Bloodbound
by TheoMidnight
Summary: Ruby Rose was many things. Criminal, hitman, practically the daughter of Roman Torchwick himself! But when she is sent to infiltrate Beacon Academy, she must survive against apocalyptical plots, insane villains, and long-lost family members. School has never been harder.
1. Flowers Will Always Wilt

**Welcome one and all to Bloodbound! Guess who's not dead! This story is the rewrite to my story Street Rose! And while some of the stuff is the same, like the romance, the _basic_ plot, and the characters (I'll part with my OCs when I'm dead), everything else has changed. In summary, this is _not_ the same story as Street Rose. You do _not_ have to read Street Rose in order to understand this one. **

**So, buckle in and enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The night was alive with horror.

Shadows seemed to flicker and reach for Summer as she bolted past them all, her ears filled with the sounds of guttural snarls and the thud of heavy feet that crushed the forest floor flat.

It wasn't supposed to be this way, it was a simple stroll through the forest in the cool of the evening, everything was supposed to be fun and good. It was supposed to be a time when Summer could spend time with her youngest daughter on her birthday.

But as the last rays of day were swallowed up by the gloom of night, the abominations came out to play.

The Grimm, monstrous beasts of the world of Remnant that only felt bloodlust and thrived on despair.

And her daughter was now quaking with terror against Summer's chest as she plunged through the forest, back towards their home that now seemed universes away.

"Hang on, Ruby." Summer whispered to the frantic child in her arms. "We're almost home!"

Summer did not know if that was a lie or the truth, the only thing she was focused on was making sure her daughter lived to see tomorrow's dawn.

But the most hateful, logical part of her mind was buzzing with the facts of how Summer was weaponless, running out of energy and stamina thanks to her heedless charge through the forest, and defending a toddler from murderous creatures that did not care about the age of their victim…

 _No!_ Summer set her teeth in a snarl, her silver eyes burning with rage. _She'll live even if I have to rip every Grimm apart with my bare hands!_

And that situation looked like it would come true as shadowy, lupine forms appeared in front of her.

Beowolves, with their midnight-black pelts and their faces that resembled exposed skulls, they looked more than hounds of the underworld.

And Summer Rose planned to kill them all.

"Ruby, close your eyes." Summer took the time to brush her daughter's sweat-soaked hair out of her face. "Now."

Ruby's eyes, the same brilliant silver as her mother's, squeezed shut.

And Summer's eyes burned with a silvery light. A light fueled by an ancient ability possessed by a group of warriors with silver eyes. Warriors who legend says could kill a Grimm with a single glance.

Unfortunately for all the silver-eyed warriors who still lived, that was a bit of an overstatement.

Summer felt the power build and was just about to release the cleansing light when something slammed into her from behind.

The light vanished as Summer was thrown forward, her body automatically curling around Ruby to protect her as she hit the ground with a heavy thud and a sharp crack as her head made contact with a moss-covered stone.

Summer briefly felt like she could rise to her feet again, but that thought was quickly squished out when the blood began to cover her eyes and the world turned into a mess of confusion and fear.

All that flashed before Summer's eyes was a mass of colors and shapes that were utterly meaningless, she could still feel the wet warmth of blood running down her face, and the feeling of Ruby crawling out from under her.

 _No!_ Summer tried to move, to shout, to scream, to do _anything_! But all that she did only result in pain and nothing else.

All she could do was listen to the sounds that made their way through her haze.

* * *

The Alpha of the Beowolf pack looked down at the small figure in front of it. A small girl clad in a rose-red cloak and who smelled of terror and anguish.

The smell delighted the Alpha, it was beyond appetizing. So much better than the disgusting tang of confusion that Summer now _reeked_ of. The scent of fear was so powerful in the child that the Alpha wanted to savor the meal that awaited it.

Ruby was not oblivious to want was about to happen to her, her parents had always told her what to do when she confronted the living shadows that devoured the flesh of creatures with souls. Her parents always told her to run as fast as she can away, to run to them so that they could protect her.

But her father was far away with Ruby's sister, they wanted to let Summer spend some time her youngest daughter.

And her Momma was laying on the cold, cold ground, blood staining the white cloak that Ruby used to love wrapping herself in. That smelled of vanilla and rose petals.

She was alone.

Ruby looked up, into the Grimm's eyes, and for the briefest of moments, she felt as if she was looking into oblivion, oblivion full of suffering and filthy darkness.

The Grimm leaped.

Ruby screamed in unadulterated agony as the creature's fang-lined jaw closed around her abdomen, blood as red as roses spilling out as her body was mutilated. Her red cloak growing dark with the lifeblood that stained the fabric. Another scream tore past her vocal cords. A wordless cry for help.

But no one heard and no one came, and the Grimm was merciless.

The agony that once was blinding suddenly raged into a pain that Ruby thought would rip her in two as the Beowolf lifted her off the ground like a chunk of dead flesh and began to rush through the forest like a dark demon's shadow. Blood running off of Ruby like red waterfalls of gore.

"MommraAAAAH!" She forgot words, she forgot thoughts and memories, and she forgot all things wholesome in the world as her mouth opened in an earsplitting shriek of pure torment that echoed across the forest.

And the darkness slithered out of the Void and dimmed Ruby's eyes.

And the darkness was welcoming. Ruby wanted to dive into it immediately, but her body seemed persistent on dragging her through pain unimaginable first. The whimpers that once screams still meant nothing to the unholy nightmare that was leading the small girl in its fangs deep into the forest and into oblivion. The darkness was closer now and Ruby felt its blissful numbness began to dull her mind.

But...

But just as the darkness was about to consume Ruby and send her to oblivion, something sparked to life inside her. A spark that unleashed a torrent.

Without warning, the world that Ruby could still sense through the darkness was lit brighter than the day and the forest was filled with silver light. And the last thing that Ruby knew before the light and the world it revealed was lost to her was her own tortured cry that was filled with innocence stained with blood and a heart that would never be the same.

* * *

Roman was having a bad night.

He had flown to a tiny island filled to the brim with stupid people. Suffered through a horrible night in some village inn whose last health inspection Roman firmly believed to have last taken palace during the Stone Age. And, finally, trekked out into some gods-forsaken woods to do business with the gods-forsaken criminal underworld of the even more gods-forsaken island of Patch.

 _Bunch of idiotic amateurs._ Roman looked sourly at the sloppy thugs before him, listening to yet _another_ moronic demand that the thugs wanted to be fulfilled. The forest clearing buzzed with the Chief thug's unceasing voice. _And all of this just to expand your criminal enterprise just a little bit further? This had better be worth the trouble…_

"…and guaranteed protection." The Chief thug finished. "Got it?"

"Of course," Roman said smoothly, holding out his arms wide, an elegant cane dangling from his right hand, he forced a warmish smile on his face as he stared into the Chief thug's eyes. "Wouldn't dream of anything else otherwise!"

 _I'm assassinating you first._

Unaware of his dark fate, the Chief thug nodded in satisfaction, causing all his Lesser thugs to copy him like a bunch of ugly puppets.

"Well, Mr. Torchwick." The Chief thug clapped his hands together. "Welcome to Patch."

"Oh, trust me." Roman's smile became a little less forced at the prospect this might afford to him. "The pleasure is all-"

His words were cut off by a blinding flash of light that cast the entire world into chaos and caused Roman to believe, for a _very_ worrisome second, that he had been struck blind.

"HOLY HELLS, WHAT WAS THAT?!" Roman reared back, nearly dislodging the bowler hat perched upon his head, and slapped a hand over his probably-bleeding eyes. "IS ANYBODY GOING TO FIND OUT?!"

"Ugh…"

Roman lowered his hand and was, first of all, relieved that he could still see. The only problem with that was that Roman found himself staring at the mostly comatose bodies of the people he had just made business partners with.

"Well, this wasn't my best and brightest idea." Roman looked in disgust at the unconscious body of the Chief thug sprawled at his feet. "I'm going to have to replace every single one of you idiots."

Shaking his head, Roman strode off towards the trees, taking it upon himself to find whatever had caused the flash of light. With the strong moonlight shining through the gaps in the canopy to aid him, his gaze flickering here and there as he carefully moved through the undergrowth that snagged at his white suit jacket.

 _I hate nature!_ Roman swore vehemently as vines of thorns tore ragged holes in his sleeves and mud squelched beneath his rather _expensive_ shoes as he moved deeper into the trees. _Why did I ever think this was a good idea?!_

He was about to give up on the search and return to where the thugs laid useless when he paused as if stopped by some invisible line. Something was off in the shadows of the woods.

Turning to where a young sapling grew between the two great trunks of primordial trees, Roman could see a splash of pale color laying amidst the darkness that had caught his eye only moments before. The color could have been anything that belonged in the forest, but Roman sensed that whatever the smudge was, it wasn't supposed to be here.

Cautiously, he moved towards the spot of hue. His cane gripped tight in his hand as he moved closer and closer to the young sapling and, soon, Roman clearly saw what the smudge of color really was.

A young, human child, a girl no more than four years of age, laying in a puddle of her own blood. A ragged cloak, nearly black with carnal fluid, sticking to her body. Her pale skin streaked with filthiness and her hair matted with debris from the forest floor. She was still and silent.

Roman stood there for a long second, staring at what _had_ to be a corpse as even from where he stood in the dim light of the broken moon, Roman could make out the savage bite wounds that were slashed across the girl's belly.

The calling-cards of Grimm.

Shuddering with disgust at the barbaric cruelty inflicted upon a child, Roman stepped away from the girl's body. Unable to do anything remotely useless except hope that her death had been quick. He turned away from the brutal sight and began to stride away from the sapling and the corpse.

Only to be stopped by a whimper that rattled pathetically through the trees.

Roman turned around slowly, his emerald eyes wide with shock. _No, she can't still be alive. Her wounds would have-_

Another whimper rose through the air and this time Roman saw the girl's bloodstained face twist in a grimace that spoke of agony and anguish. Blood still seeped from her wounds.

Roman gaped at the small girl who held on to life with a single thread.

 _How can she still be alive?_ Roman did not understand how this child, this four-year-old, could survive a Grimm attack, have her torso nearly ripped apart, and still drew breath. But Roman realized that his lack of understanding meant nothing because the girl _was_ alive and _had_ survived her attack.

 _But not if she doesn't get help._

The thought struck Roman like a pang. It was true. Aura or no aura, the child would bleed out and pass into the Void if someone, if _Roman_ , did not do something soon.

 _WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?!_

That thought struck Roman, less like a pang, and more like a falling, flaming skyscraper. His mind buzzed with indecision and panic. If it was anybody else, anybody older, Roman would have left them to the care of fate. But it wasn't anybody _else_ or anybody _older_.

It was a little girl, still a toddler and she was dying.

And Roman was the only one who could help her.

Another whimper, another breath closer to death and Roman knew it was time to make a choice.

The canopy of the forest, hidden in the darkness, rustled as the wind blew through it and Roman made his choice in an instant.

Striding forward, Roman Torchwick stopped down and placed his hands on the gaping wounds that covered the girl's abdomen. Blood seeped up between his fingers, but Roman ignored the disturbing warmth and focused on one thing and one thing only.

Saving the girl whose life hung by the barest strand of a thin thread.

For a moment, absolutely nothing happened. The forest remained shrouded in gloom and the only sounds to be heard was the unseen creatures scurrying in the dark. Then a green light bloomed forth from Roman's hands.

 _It has been a long time since I had to use this._ Roman's face was thrown into sharp relief as the light grew brighter and he felt the girl's body began to heal.

It was an odd sensation. To feel someone else's muscle's knit themselves back together. To feel skin mend itself. To watch the pale green light flow over the child's entire body, healing all that it could.

 _She's still going to have scars._ Roman watched the gashes that decorated her abdomen stopped its insane flow of blood. _But she'll live._

The girl stirred, the debris on the forest crunching beneath her as her body shifted. Roman's breathing nearly stopped as he watched her, but her eyes did not open.

Her breathing, however, grew steadier and more rhythmic as the pain that had broken it faded from her body. Roman, his hands still glowing with the green light, felt the tension ease out of his own chest. _She will get another chance at life._

Roman stemmed the flow of his semblance, of his healing touch, and looked at the girl whose face was now free from the harsh lines of pain and now was just brimming with exhaustion. And Roman felt the youth of the girl hit him like a roaring wind.

 _She's just a kid!_ Roman felt hate rise up inside him, hate directed at the monsters who did this to her, hate that he had to shove down to avoid attracting the attention of Grimm. _A toddler!_

 _But why would the world care?_ Roman couldn't stop the scoff the whispered past his lips as the more world-burden part of him broke through his emotion. _It never has before…_

The girl shifted again, but still did not wake from her near-stupor and Roman doubted she would anytime soon. The attack had nearly killed her, she needed rest and a lot of it.

And there, kneeling in some unnamed forest on an island few cared about, Roman made another choice. A choice that had first flickered to life as he was making sure the girl's life did not go out.

 _She's alone._ Roman began to brush the dirt off her clothes and face, his fingers careful and gentle. And to all the world and its thoughts, the girl was. Alone in some nameless forest, bite marks covering her stomach, and the hint of a stained heart on her face. Who could ever think the girl had someone else in the world watching out for her?

 _But she does._ The thought brought to Roman a feeling of warmth. He had made a choice and he planned to follow where it led him, no matter what.

He would care for the girl. He would take her into warmth and home. And he would do anything to protect her. He had to.

 _This is going to upheave a lot of things._ Roman bent lower to the ground and lifted the girl up in his arms. She shifted once again and Roman was glad of it, she was simply sleeping now. _But if that is what happens, then fine. So be it._

His cane stuck underneath his arm, Roman set back off to the clearing, his feet carefully taking the easiest path through the night-shrouded woods. The girl curled into the warmth of his chest as he carried her from the forest floor, past the trees that had guarded the forest for untold centuries, and into the shimmering light of the moon.

Roman looked down at the slumbering girl in his arms. _You won't be alone ever again. I promise._

* * *

Summer leaned against the tree, breathing raggedly. Her hands filthy and bloodstained as she clutched the rough bark, using it to support her weight as she tried to clear the pain from her pounding head. _I have…to find her._

Pushing off the trunk, Summer staggered with exhaustion through trees, the forest alight with the blinding rays of the blood-red dawn. The world swimming dizzily in front of her eyes as she stumbled on the uneven ground. _Where is she?_

Pushing out of tangles of thorns and snarled underbrush, Summer found herself staring down the slope of some rocky hill. A rocky hill where, at its base, shone a brilliant red, so much like the color of Ruby's cloak.

Summer took hold of the shred of hope that dangled in front of her and sprinted down the hill. But before she could take more than two steps, her body finally gave up on its will to push forward and sent her tumbling down the slope.

The dawn sky spun above and below her as she pitched down the hill, slamming off the sharp stones that depleted what was left of her aura and beat her skin to nothing more the bruises.

Rolling to a stop at the bottom of the slope, Summer attempted to get back on her feet…only to collapse again as a shooting pain arced up her leg.

 _NO!_ Eyes panicked, Summer began crawling forward with her hands. Anything, anything, to keep moving forward. Anything to keep searching for her daughter, her _Ruby_. But soon the pain that thundered through her body nearly sent her back to the murky haze that created this nightmare.

And a nightmare it had to be. For Summer refused this to believe this was real, refused to believe the blood and pain, refused to believe that her daughter was gone. Summer laid upon the damp earth and struggled to keep her tears at bay.

 _Weeping won't help Ruby. I have to find her! I have to save her! I-_ Summer froze. There before her was a rose hued a brilliant red, the same red she had seen from the top of the hill, the same red as Ruby's cloak. Only, as she stared at it, a petal fell and drifted down to rest upon the rot of the forest floor.

That was all it took for her heart to falter. All it took for her mind to tell her to stop, to remind her that once a person was taken by the Grimm; hope was fruitless and heartbreak was certain. All it took for her mind to tell Summer what her heart so vehemently denied.

That her daughter, her little Petal, was dead. And with that realization, the tempest of emotions that raged inside her, the storm that Summer held back with the hope that Ruby was still alive, burst forth and Summer was lost among the torrents of her own heart and mind.

Lying on the cold forest floor, Summer Rose wept.

* * *

 **So, what'd you think? Yay? Nay? Meh? Tell me what you think! But yeah, that was the first chapter of Bloodbound! Like I said before, this is a _very_ different story then Street Rose and I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys think of it! So, goodbye for now and I'll see you all in the next chapter! **


	2. Two Worlds, Two Families

**Hello! Welcome to the second chapter of Bloodbound! Enjoy!**

 _Thoughts_

" _No, Neo is not telepathic, but this is the way she communicates and this is what it looks like. No questioning it, this works"_

* * *

 _Ruby Rose, age four_

Ruby was trapped in shadows and pain.

" _GOLD! Get out here now!"_

She was drowning in images of claws and teeth, all ripping and tearing at her body. Trying to take her apart in gluttonous rage.

" _Mr. Torchwick! Oh, whose is that?"_

" _Don't ask stupid questions and get this Bullhead in the air. We're going back to Vale."_

She wanted to _scream_. Gods above, she wanted to scream at the flood of memories that nearly cleaved her body apart. But she couldn't make a sound, her tongue was a growth of useless flesh in her mouth. Memories of terrified silver eyes, soulless faces that seemed to leek blood, and infernal howls among the trees. So much terror coursed through Ruby and she couldn't make a sound.

" _Shouldn't we take her to a hospital, Mr. Torchwick?"_

" _Oh, yes! I'll just pop my head in and drop the girl off! After all, that is a perfectly normal thing for wanted criminals to do. Anyways, I used my semblance, what she needs the most now is rest."_

" _Your semblance? The healing one?"_

" _Yes, Gold, the healing one."_

She wanted her family. She wanted her _mother_. But the only thing that was there with her, out of place in her darkest memories, was indistinct voices that ebbed and flowed in her awareness.

" _What about her family?"_

" _I found her dying in the middle of some muddy forest, she looks about four-years-old, and I couldn't find anyone near her, remains or otherwise. Her family is probably dead, eaten by the Grimm."_

" _That's…blunt."_

" _That's life, as much as I would like it not to be."_

But there was something else, something that was very near to nothing. A spark with her in the mental hell, it wasn't bright and pulsing, but it was still there. A thing that danced at the edge of her awareness, a silver light.

" _Sir, we're almost to Vale. Should I set her down at the warehouses or the Loft?"_

" _At the Loft, Gold. And tell the rest of the underlings that I may be late tomorrow."_

" _Do you think the kid will wake up tomorrow?"_

" _Not really, no. But I rather that I don't leave it to chance and have her hurt herself when she wakes up in an unfamiliar house."_

" _If you don't mind me asking, Mr. Torchwick, what about your daughter?"_

" _Neo is a six-year-old girl, not a territorial she-wolf. That's a stupid question and I could have sworn I told you not to ask those."_

" _Technically, the name for a female wolf is a bit-"_

" _I KNOW what the proper name is, Gold, but given that FACT, you do understand why I might feel averse to calling my daughter as such. Now, hurry up, stop speaking, and get me home."_

Ruby felt light on her face. Not the lifeless illumination of artificial lighting, but nor was it like the warm rays of the sun. It was like the shadows of horrific memories were finally fading away, being replaced by a blessed awareness. Ruby Rose felt the darkness fade from her mind.

" _We're here, sir!"_

" _Once we're inside, get the Bullhead back to Warehouse Four and tell the Syndicate members there what happened. Make sure they spread the word to the other warehouses."_

" _Yes, sir. Anything else?"_

" _No, and as always, it was SIMPLY a pleasure riding with you."_

" _Why, thank you, Mr. Torchwick!"_

" _Remind me next time I see you to introduce you to something called sarcasm, I'm not going to see my efforts wasted because you're an idiot."_

The darkness was gone from Ruby's mind. Forever or only for a day, she didn't care, all she cared about was that she was free of the torment and despair. Free of the fact that the last memory of her mother was her laying on the wet forest floor, with her head caked in blood. Unmoving and silent. But it was gone now, faded from view, and Ruby drifted off into a dreamless sleep that was long overdue in coming.

" _Rest now, you're safe. You're safe."_

xXx

When Ruby woke up, it was in an unfamiliar bed and with someone very small and _extremely_ colorful staring down at her, she started screaming but stopped when she discovered it hurt too much.

So, Ruby did the only other thing she could think of, something her father taught her and her sister back in their warm home.

She punched the girl in the face.

It wasn't a very hard punch of course; Ruby did not have much in the way of physical strength even in the best of conditions, much less after feeling like her stomach had been ripped apart and then shoved back together. But the colorful girl was so surprised at being hit square in the nose that she fell over backward, sprawling out on the ornate rug beside the bed with a loud thud.

Needless to say, the girl on the floor looked up at Ruby as if she had been smitten by the gods instead of just slugged by a four-year-old. Her nose turning a bright red (In fact, it reminded Ruby of a tiny strawberry), the girl pushed herself off the floor and looked torn between leaving Ruby alone and tackling her in a fit of fiery vengeance.

Both were so focused on each other that the suppressed chuckle made both of them jump and whirl their heads around to see a man with hair like burnished copper standing there, a barely hidden smile on his face. He wasn't sure if it was proper or not to laugh at the fact that he just saw a four-year-old punch a six-year-old in the face.

Shoving down his mirth, the man stepped forward and raised up his hands when Ruby scurried back in fear.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." The man kneeled, his hands still held out in front of him. "My name is Roman, Roman Torchwick. The person you just hit is named Neopolitan-"

"That's a weird name." Ruby cocked her head to the side as Roman's arm was suddenly around Neopolitan's shoulders, a simple comforting gesture if a person could ignore the fact the Neopolitan was straining to break free and tackle the already injured Ruby to the ground.

"Well, she likes to be called Neo. What's your name?" Roman could not help but find this girl's total lack of decorum just the tiniest bit hilarious, mostly due to Neo's reactions.

"Ruby Rose. Like the flower, but also like the rock." Ruby had heard Yang put it that way once and thought it would help clear away any confusion. The thought of her family made Ruby frown and look around her, searching for someone who she could not seem to find.

"Where's my momma?"

At that, the room fell into reticence, a silence so heavy that even the sounds of the house and the world seemed to hush and watch. Roman cleared his throat, preparing himself for what he was about to say and what might happen afterward.

"Ruby, I found you in the forest two nights ago, you were hurt badly and…" Roman took another breath. "You were alone, Ruby, I couldn't find anyone else."

"But that doesn't make sense." She looked into her savior's face, her forehead scrunched together as she tried to untangle the thought of her being alone. "My family is _always_ with me, dad and momma said so!"

Roman lips tightened. _Oh, this is going to be unpleasant._ Wishing he was better at this, he kneeled down in front of Ruby and looked her in the eye.

"Ruby, your family is dead."

 _Unpleasant_ did not even begin to describe the storm that followed those accursed words.

Ruby forgot the throb of her stomach, forgot the ache of her body, and the fogginess of her mind. A new agony had drowned them all, a pain so great that Ruby wanted someone, _anyone_ , to tell her that _those_ words were not true, that they were _lies_!

But no one would, all they would do was watched as Ruby Rose crumbled into a ball on the floor, weeping as her soul was torn in two. However, she was alone in her misery only in her thoughts. One moment, all she felt was cold and anguish, but the very _next_ second, warmth and solace encompassed her.

Roman hugged the girl close as she sobbed, not minding the salty tears that soaked his dress shirt, not caring about the fact that the girl's cries were loud and unceasing. Those things were unimportant and barely worth noticing. All that mattered at this moment was to comfort the child who had just lost everything.

"It's alright, it's going to be alright." Roman soothed. "Just cry for now, it's going to be okay."

And so she did. And when the tears stopped tracing paths down her grief-wracked face, when her voice turned into a harsh whisper, Ruby just stayed there, wrapped in the warmth of a father's hug. Even if it wasn't _her_ father.

Even Neo felt a twinge of something in her chest, a faint memory of a long-ago time where there had been more people, more _laughter_ , in her life. Before flashing blades snatched it all away in a dark alley and she was left alone in the pitiless streets. Before a man with green eyes and hair like burning metal took her under his wing.

But this girl, this Ruby Rose, she was safe. Even though it might have felt like her heart would never mend again-and who knows, maybe it never would-despite all of that, she would not be left to steal food from the trash and refuse of society, she would never have to glance over her shoulder every minute of every day. She would be safe and cared for because Roman Torchwick would sooner turn himself over to be hung than let a child live a life alone and despairing.

When Neo joined the comforting hug (for what else could she do?), Ruby unlatched one of her arms from around Roman's neck and immediately fastened it around Neo's, pulling her in tighter. While Neo felt uncomfortable in the extreme by hugging someone other than Roman (And even then she did not hug him often), she pushed aside the near-overwhelming desire to pull away from the contact and stayed where she was, holding a sobbing girl who had lost everything and everyone she had ever known.

xXx

" _Is she going to stay here?"_ Neo looked up the spiral staircase where Ruby laid, sleeping heavily, on the bed, her sobs had giving way to exhaustion so deep, it craved a groove through her very soul.

Roman, who had long ago grown used to Neo's preferred method of communication even though he still had no idea what _exactly_ it was, nodded. "She has no other home now and this is the safest place for her at the moment."

There was no way in the darkest Hells that he was going to let the so-called orphanages sink their scum-encrusted claws into her. The ones in Vale were barely even dumping grounds for the unwanted. No, Ruby would stay here until they could find out if she still had any living relatives left and if they could care for her.

If no relatives existed, if she was truly the sole survivor of her entire family, then Roman made a vow to himself. A vow that he would not let Ruby Rose be cast aside by anyone, that, one day, she would be strong enough to take down anything that might stand in her way or try and hurt her. Roman vowed to himself that Ruby Rose would survive, no matter what.

A sharp tug on his dress shirt made him break out of his solemn thoughts and look down to see Neo with a pout on her face. _"I'm tired."_

Roman smiled softly. "Well, let's get you to bed then. It's been a busy evening."

" _She punched me in the face."_ Neo's eyebrows pulled together at the memory. _"It hurt too."_

"She'll fit right in." Walking behind the staircase, in the space beyond it, was a _nest_ of comforters and pillows that were piled onto and draped over a bed that Roman had not seen since he first brought it into the loft.

Neo jumped right into the mass of blankets and burrowed through them until her head stuck back out at what Roman could only assume to be the head of the bed. Bending over, he kissed his daughter on the forehead.

"Sweet dreams, Neo, I'll see you in the morning."

Roman turned off the lamp that hung near her bed and went back out into the main area, switching off lights as he did. Once everything was fully flooded by darkness, he paused by the large windows that looked out towards the glistening buildings and towers of Vale. His city, his _kingdom_ , the place he had stolen, murdered, and cheated to gain. A place where the mere mention of the Torchwick Syndicate sent the scum of the criminal underworld fleeing back to whatever hovels they had crawled out of.

And he cared more about two children he found alone and dying that he would let this entire kingdom burn to ash if it meant protecting them. One of the children he had known for less than a day!

But then Roman supposed that did not really matter, he was ruthless when he needed to be, but he wasn't soulless. He _could_ _not_ have lived with himself if he had just walked away and left Ruby Rose to die and rot in some nameless forest.

 _Having a heart in this business is a dangerous thing, but it is worth every threat of pain._ Roman chuckled slightly as the words passed through his mind. The sound seemingly loud in the sleeping home. Quieting down, Roman turned towards the shadowed-shrouded space where he knew she was.

"Good-night, Ruby." He said softly. "I hope the nightmares stay away and good dreams can find you."

And, though no one ever saw it, Ruby's sleeping form relaxed and, for the briefest moment, a smile flashed across her face. A smile to chase away the nightmares.

* * *

 _Yang Xiao Long, age six_

"Momma, where's Ruby?"

Yang looked up curiously at her mother, sitting at the kitchen table. A normal action except for the fact her mother looked as pale as the tattered cloak that hung from her shoulders and stared bleakly at nothing.

A ragged red gash zig-zagged up the side of her face, black thread stitching it together. But the pain in her mother's eyes was not from the wound on her face, but the wound seared onto her heart and soul whose pain felt as real and as agonizing as any physical injury.

Her mother did not answer, but her father did. Yang did not hear him come into the homey kitchen, but suddenly he was there, strong and reliable like some ancient mountain.

"Hey, firecracker." Taiyang knelt down and smiled at his daughter. Yang might have been reassured, but her father's smile looked strange and it trembled like a leave caught in the wind, as if it might fall off at any moment. "Why don't you go show Uncle Qrow your drawings?"

Yang frowned and looked at her mother before turning back to her father and nodding. "Okay."

Padding out of the kitchen, Yang risked a quick glance behind her to see Taiyang immediately sit beside her mother at the table before she walked through the door and it swung back close, blocking out her sight.

Glancing around the living room, she noticed that her uncle was nowhere to be seen, though Yang could see a light shining underneath the bathroom door. She wasn't quite sure for exactly _how_ long her uncle as going to be staying with her because when she asked, all he did was look at her parents and sigh. "I don't know, kid."

Shrugging, she turned back to the door and studied it for a long moment before glancing swiftly at the bathroom door and walking quietly back to it. Pressing her ear against the smooth wood, she could hear the sounds of her father's voice and just make out the words that were being spoken.

"- wasn't your fault, Summer." Her father almost sounded like he was begging, his words desperate. "Please, see that."

"I couldn't protect her." Summer spoke and Yang had to stifle a gasp. Her voice was unrecognizable, hoarse and sounding like it was the voice of an ancient crone than her mother. "Tai, I couldn't protect our baby girl."

There was a long silence, Yang pressed her ear closer to the door. Finally, it was her father that broke the quiet.

"You nearly died trying and then you searched for her until you could not even move." His words were heavy with emotion. "The Grimm are the ones to blame, Summer, only them."

The sudden sound a hand slamming down on the wooden surface of a table was like a clap of thunder in Yang's ears and she jerked away from the door. Not that it mattered much because Summer Rose raised her voice enough to be heard throughout the house.

"Damn it, NO!" She shouted, harshness radiating off each word. "I could have killed every single one of those _monsters_! But all I did was get knocked unconscious, rendered _useless_ , while the Grimm…they…ripped into our… _they ate Ruby, Taiyang_! Those monsters killed my baby girl!"

And then, there just sobs. Heartbreaking cries of never-ending grief.

Yang's mind seemed to have stopped, her whole body seemed to pause as those words were branded onto every fiber of her being. _They ate Ruby_.

Ruby was dead. Her little sister was gone.

The sounds that choked out of Yang's mouth were more like screams than weeping, tears running like wild torrents down her face. Misery consuming her soul.

Suddenly, warmth encased her and Uncle Qrow and pulled her into a tight hug. Yang latched her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder, salty tears staining his clothes.

"Easy now." He murmured and Yang managed to form words instead of screams.

"U-uncle Qrow! Ruby isn't dead, right? She isn't?!" She lifted her face and stared pleadingly into his eyes. "Please, tell me Ruby isn't dead!"

His eyes glanced away from her own and his lips tightened until you could barely see them. Taking a deep, shaky breath, he answered. "I'm sorry, firecracker. I am so, so sorry, but I can't."

Yang's sobbing echoed throughout her home.

Distantly, Yang heard the creak of a door opening and the arms of her uncle were replaced by the much more familiar warmth of her mother's arms. The scent of cinnamon and rose petals calming her thrashing heartbeat.

"Don't worry, my little dragon." The soft, gentle murmur of her mother's voice lulled Yang's sobs into whimpers of despair. "You're safe now. Me, your dad, your uncle, we'll never leave your side. _I_ will _never_ leave your side."

And in a forest home on the island of Patch, a family mourned for their lost daughter.

* * *

 _Ruby Rose, age ten_

Ruby really hated shattering short people.

She didn't care at all about the shattering and she was actually quite fond of short people. She just did _not_ like it when the shattering and the short people combined to form the nightmarish she-devil known as Neopolitan.

 _Okay, don't-don't panic._ Ruby prowled among the large crates that were scattered throughout the ground floor of the warehouse; her scythe, a high-caliber death machine named Crescent Rose, unfolded in all of its deadly glory. _She has to reappear sometime and when she does, I'll-_

The thought was cut off as someone hit Ruby on the back of the head with what felt like a steel beam.

"ARGH!" Ruby spun around, her scythe whistling through the air…only for it to be stopped dead by an uplifted parasol held by a tiny girl with a huge smirk on her face.

 _Dang it!_ Ruby scowled, her grip on Crescent Rose tightening as her eyes bore into Neo's. _No, It's not over yet. I can still win!_

Spinning away from her opponent, Ruby swung her scythe in a deadly arc. Neo responded by flipping over it and landing somewhere on the top of the crates, high above Ruby's head.

"Will you just stand and fight for once?" Ruby gazed all around and above her. "Otherwise, this will go on all day and I'll miss the expo!"

" _Aren't you only ten? How are you so obsessed with weapons?"_

"Hey, weapons are awesome!" Ruby shifted down Crescent Rose to form a compact rifle, something that she proudly stated was a high-caliber sniper rifle. "It's not my fault that your view on weaponry stops with your dumb umbrella!"

" _Deadly Elegance is a parasol! We've been over this!"_

Ruby leaped to the side as Neo emerged from the shadows like a vengeful pink wraith and unleashed a barrage of lightning-fast attacks upon her weapon's red-cloaked slanderer.

" _This would be over sooner..."_ With a twist of her wrist, a polished spike slid out of the tip of Deadly Elegance. _"If you just held still!"_

"You're descending into psychotic violence again." Ruby twisted her body away from the sharp point of the spike, her dark clothes making her a hard target to hit amidst the gloom of the crates. "Roman told you never to descend into psychotic violence!"

" _Nah, he just said not to do it in public."_ Neo jabbed at Ruby again, a smirk on her face. _"Here, you're fair game."_

"Why are you so mean?" Ruby swung her curved blade at Neo's torso. "Outside, you are all sweet and innocent-looking. But on the inside, you're all rude and mean and bad attitude!"

" _Hey, I have a great attitude. I have the best attitude ever. People gasp in wonder and awe when they see my attitude."_

Ruby sucked in her stomach, the skin barely escaping the point of the parasol's spike, and jumped away from Neo. "Are you sure they're not standing around in awe of how crazy you are!"

" _We really need to up your witty banter game; this is just kinda sad."_ Neo sighed dramatically as she leaned gracefully out of the way as Ruby swung her scythe in a vicious strike. _"All the things I do to help you, Ruby. I think I have just lost count!"_

Giving in to enraged frustration, Ruby abandoned all forms of sensibility and charged her petite opponent head-on.

Only to have her face introduced to the cement floor of the warehouse.

The _crack_ of her nose breaking was the only warning she got before pain spread like hot embers across her face and blood dripped down her chin. Causing the usual innocent looking girl to transform into a nightmarish visage of a deranged demon.

A deranged demon with an extremely large weapon.

" _You look mad."_ Neo cocked her head to the side. _"Was it something I said?"_

Feeling her eye twitching, Ruby pushed herself off the floor and back to her feet. Her eyes locked onto Neo as she ignored the blood on her face.

"Okay, no more playing around. You will suffer for what you've done to me, to Crescent Rose, to-"

 _ **WHACK**_

" _Rule number ten."_ Neo stood above Ruby like some sort of triumphant conqueror, her parasol resting on her shoulders. _"Never, under any circumstances, give a monologue."_

"Ugh, noted." Ruby groaned as bright lights flashed before her eyes, her head throbbing where Neo had clubbed it. Crescent Rose discarded beside her. "Does this mean I lose?"

" _Miserably!"_ Neo's smile was a beacon of cheerfulness. _"Da should probably disown you after that disgraceful attempt."_

"A yes would have worked just fine, you jerk," Ruby grumbled as she stumbled back onto her feet. "And why am I doing this again? This whole training thing is really dumb!"

" _No. This training thing is the result of you wanting to be a hitman, common sense, and the fact that you nearly got us all killed when you tried using that scythe for the first time."_

"I didn't know that crate had Fire Dust in it!"

" _Still blew up half the warehouse."_

"I said I was sorry!"

" _Yeah, after screaming for a solid five seconds and then attempting to put it out with Wind Dust."_

"At least, I tried! _You_ just stood there laughing at me and being completely useless!"

By this time, the two girls were each trying to stare the other down. Neither girls balking from the threats lurking in each other's eyes.

The faceoff was interrupted by the sounds of the sliding doors of the warehouse being pulled open and the appearance of Roman Torchwick.

"Oh, good. The warehouse is still standing and no one is bleeding excessively!" Roman cast a critical eye on his merchandise. "Even if my shipments have a few gorges carved into them."

" _Minor damage."_ Neo waved her hand carelessly, turning away from Ruby to face her father. _"Easily repaired."_

The crime lord shrugged. "I call in some underlings tomorrow. Now!" Roman shut the doors behind him with a dull bang. "How is training going?"

" _She is still too careless and ruled by her emotions."_ Neo ignored Ruby's squawk of protest and charged on bluntly. _"Plus she is totally useless when it comes to close-range combat."_

"Don't worry about sparing my feelings. I didn't need them anyway." Ruby picked her weapon up off the floor with a huff. "Why don't you destroy my hopes and dreams while you're at it."

" _I tell it as it is, and right now? You still have a lot to learn."_ The prismatic instructor looked dead into her trainee's eyes. _"Things that, if you don't know them, will cause you to end up rotting in a sewer somewhere."_

"Neo's right." The thought of softening what Neo had said did not even cross Roman's mind as he spoke to the girl he found five years ago, dying under the dark forest canopy. She had to know the reality of their world, their world of thieves and assassins, and what would happen if you were not prepared for it. Roman had always known this and he wanted to make sure Ruby did as well. "You have to be able to crush those who try to hurt you, you have to be able to protect yourself no matter what you're up against you, you have to _survive_."

The emphasis cemented onto the last word brought to Ruby's mind what was unanimously the Torchwick family motto.

 _Lie. Cheat. Steal. Survive._

Roman made it clear, however, that they were to fulfill this as one unit. Another, much more important, Torchwick motto was that family always came first.

"Ruby?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, the little reaper in the red hood focused on the inquisitive eyes of her guardian. She blinked. "Mmm? What?"

"You didn't hear a word I said, did you?" Roman sounded resigned.

"Learn to fight so I don't die." Ruby summarized. "Yep, I got it."

"Good." Roman rested a hand on Ruby's shoulders, looking into her eyes, before stepping back towards the iron staircase that spiraled up into the alcove above. "Now that we got the life lessons out of the way, you may want to duck."

Ruby never noticed the shadow falling over her. "Wha-?"

 _ **WHACK**_

As Ruby thudded to the ground for the second time in less than eight minutes, light brighter than the sun flashing dizzyingly in front of her eyes.

" _Rule number nine, always be aware of your surroundings."_

"STOP WITH THE DEATH LESSONS ALREADY!" Ruby pushed herself off the polished cement, her face caught in between a frown and a snarl. "I'm tired of this! Can't we just call it quits and play some more Deathmatch: Macabre until it's time to go to the expo?"

" _Video games won't help with training, ya know."_ Neo placed Deadly Elegance on her shoulder and placed a steadying hand on Ruby's arm, helping the stumbling scythe master regain her balance. _"But sure."_

"But they might help, right?" Ruby rubbed the back of her head. While still in some pain, the cross frown that creased her face was replaced by a grin. "Maybe if we play it long enough, I'll learn the Five-fingered Doom-punch of Complete and Utter Catastrophe!"

Neo linked arms with Ruby, her own smile like a length of silk. _"When that day comes, Rubes, we can celebrate by stopping the death lessons."_

"What, really?" The more talkative of the two peered at the other. "Are you sure you're not just lying?"

" _I wouldn't dream of lying to you, Ruby, now let's go rot our brains out."_

"YEAH!"

As the two girls and the sounds of their conversation faded as they went up the spiral staircase set in the dim corner of the warehouse, Roman just chuckled to himself. _When Ruby joins Neo at the Syndicate, either the resulting damage would be cataclysmic or they would take over the entire world._

"Hey! No cheating!" Ruby's indignant voice drifted down the stairs, catching Roman's ear.

" _I'm not cheating! Deadly Elegance is having a malfunction."_

"I'll malfunction your face if you don't get your parasol out of the way!"

" _Nice comeback."_

"Do you _want_ to fight for real?"

" _Do you want to lose again?"_

Roman rolled his eyes, still smiling, and headed towards the staircase himself. _Ah, home sweet home._

He wouldn't trade it for the world.

* * *

 _Yang Xiao Long, age twelve_

"FIGHT ME ALREADY!"

"Get away from us, you psycho!"

The gang of boys scrambled away from Yang as she was engulfed in golden flames once more, her fist trembling as her aura healed the broken skin of her knuckles.

Yang Xiao Long, an aspiring Huntress and hero, stood panting in the middle of some back alley. Her dreams of heroics and glory shove aside in favor of the wilder emotions of wanting to brawl until her body was bloody and her mind numb.

 _Mom._

Taking a deep, shaking breath, she started after the fleeing forms of the boys. "I SAID _FIGHT!"_

The words came out in a screech which only made the gang run faster, as far away from her as they could get. They got into this by assuming a twelve-year-old girl could not be _that_ much of a threat and they were leaving vowing never to bother people again. Yang, however, was not happy about her victory. That fight wasn't enough.

She could still remember, the thoughts still swarmed like locusts inside her head. _Not again, please Gods, not again!_

Gritting her teeth against the yearning to remember, Yang charged forward intent of tracking down either boys or _anyone else_ she could set herself on. Her footsteps echoing around the alley, Yang splashed through puddles of oil-tainted water and piles of stinking trash.

 _Don'tremembercan'trememberwon'tremember._ The never-ending cycle of thoughts was like a million records playing at the same time with a horrible discord. Yang ran to escape it, racing forward only for trying to find a way not to look back. Nearly without conscious thought, she ran faster and half-hoped she would never stop.

Only to fall, sprawling hard across the refuse of the alley.

Feeling the blood drip past her broken skin and run down her body, Yang picked herself off the littered asphalt and rose to her feet. The pain in her body only being a flicker of relief to ease the agony in her mind.

But it was not just the relief, it was a way to scream out to the world of what nightmares invaded her head, it was way to get rid of the anger that burned inside her, it was a way to punish herself for not being able to _do anything_.

Rearing her fist back, Yang drove it into the ground. Her knuckles splitting and her bones breaking as she punched the asphalt again and again and again, her aura fading out after so much of the abuse. She barely felt the tears of both pain and despair sild down her face, all she was focused on was unburdening herself of the maelstrom of emotions that were torturing her.

"YANG! STOP!"

Before she could drive her hands into ruin, someone caught her wrists and crouched down in front of her, amidst the trash and blood. Yang looked up wearily, into a pale face with eyes as black as midnight and brimming with grief and distress.

"Ebon." Yang's voice was cracked, broken, and her gaze held nothing but shattered sadness. Ebon, meanwhile, did not know which emotion to put first. Grief for her best friend, distress for what had been done to her, fury at the _monsters_ who caused her friend pain, or despair that Yang had been reduced to this. Reduced to nothing but rage and desolation.

Letting go of Yang's ruined hands, Ebon threw her arms around her friend and hugged her as if to protect her from the world and its hells. At first surprised at the sudden contact, Yang wrapped her own arms around Ebon and together they sat there. In a dark alley with a heavy shadow hanging over them.

"Yang, it wasn't your fault. It wasn't _anyone's_ fault!" Ebon drew back to look into Yang's eyes. "Please, don't do this to yourself, please." Her voice tore at the end of her plea.

"I…" Yang tried to speak, tried to describe the monsters that tore at her from the inside, but the words wouldn't come. Words failed to capture what was happening to her. Instead, she just clutched Ebon tighter and hoped it would be enough to keep from being lost among her thoughts.

 _It wasn't my fault?_ The mere suggestion of that seemed like a bad joke. Her father stayed behind to watch over her, her father could not protect her mother because of _her!_ How was this not her fault? If had just been stronger, smarter, _better_ , than maybe her mother would still be alive.

"Yang." Ebon's eyes showed a sliver of steel through the unshed tears, knowing what that lifeless look meant. "Stop and listen to me. Hurting yourself won't do anything, blaming yourself won't do _anything_." She took a deep breath. "The Grimm killed your mother, not you, only the Grimm. _They_ are the ones to blame for this."

Yang's heart skipped a beat before racing into a rapid pulsation, not from desolation, but from hate at the mention of the soulless abominations that had caused it in the first place.

The Grimm. Unholy monsters who do nothing but steal lives. The monsters that had killed countless people since the dawn of Remnant. Monsters that had killed her mother and her baby sister. That had torn her family apart. Yang abominated them, loathed them with every piece of her soul. She didn't care that it was hate that drew in the Grimm, she despised the beasts and wanted to scorch their foul stain from the planet.

 _I want to eradicate them. Every. Single. One!_ Yang felt the hot flood of hate course through her body. _I want to make sure they can't hurt anyone ever again. I want to avenge Mom! I want to avenge Ruby!_

Ebon felt Yang rise off the ground and rose with her, lilac eyes hidden by blond bangs, before Yang raised her head and stared into her friend's eyes.

"No more death, Ebon." Yang's voice was low and steady, a stark contrast to the fires that burned in her eyes. "I've had _enough_. I'm going to stop the Grimm, I am going to wipe them out, _I'm_ going to stop them from hurting anyone else _ever_ again."

Ebon looked at her friend, at her posture that screamed defiance at what was considered the natural order of things, whose eyes had spawned into something near-demonic looking, and shook her head. Raven locks swaying gently.

"No. You are not going to do anything alone. If you're going to take on a soulless race of Hells-beasts, then I'm going to be standing right there next to you."

Yang felt a small smile cross her face. It _was_ tiny, but it was still there nevertheless. A flash of something besides dark emotion and horrible thoughts. Even if those thoughts and emotions still lurked in the depths of Yang's mind, she could push them down. However long it took and however hard it became, she would fight until the countless deaths, the immeasurable suffering, was finally put to an end.

 _I'll make you proud, mom, I'll make both of you proud._ Aloud, Yang simply said to Ebon. "Come on, my dad is probably worried about me. Mind walking with me?"

"I wouldn't mind at all. In fact, I think I'll send the night. My parents shouldn't mind." Ebon and Yang started walking out of the maze of alleys. For a moment, they were silent, just listening to the world move around them. Yang felt her aura heal her hands as it was revived from zero.

"You know," Ebon looked slantwise at her friend as they walked. "If you and I are going to be saviors of Remnant and all its peoples, we're going to need some heroic weapons. I'm thinking swords, really big swords."

Yang shook her head, her lips curling up into a smile. "You can have all the swords you want; I'm going to stick with Ember Celica."

"That's cool, but until those gauntlets are finished and ready for some Grimm punching." Ebon took a deep breath. " _Swords_. Think about it."

Yang rolled her eyes even as the smile remained on her face. "Okay, Ebonbob, I'll think about the swords even though me using one is just a crazed fantasy of yours."

Ebon smiled at the stupid nickname. "A girl can hope, right?"

Slinging an arm around her friend's shoulders, Yang nodded. "Yep, a girl can hope, alright."

Later that night, back at home and Ebon sleeping soundly there with her, Yang stared out at the night sky and listened to the sounds of her father's tears downstairs. Her heart clenching tighter with every sob. Even the abyssal silence that emitted from here her Uncle Qrow was staying was deep and terrible. She looked up at the moon, gleaming full and bright among the inky darkness and whispered to two people that were now far away and lost to her.

"Mom? Ruby? I know I can't hope to see you again, but I hope I can finish this war against the Grimm and let both of you finally find peace." Yang felt fiery emotion flare up in her heart at these last words. "No, I don't _hope_ I can do this. I _swear_ it."

* * *

 _Ruby Rose, age fifteen_

Ruby watched as the man she was going to kill stroll down the street.

 _Let's see, human, stupid overcoat, even stupider haircut, overall just stupid looking. Yep! That's him!_ Ruby couldn't help but smile at successfully tracking the arms dealer down in the wide expanse of, even with butterflies fluttering frantically in her stomach. She was perched on a rooftop, her hood casting her face into shadow, watching the man stroll under the streetlights who had no idea that a reaper hunted him under the twilight sky.

Remembering Roman's words on making sure it was done as quietly as possible, Ruby decided against sniping the mook right there in the street and instead simply waited. To be honest, she wasn't quite sure for _what_ , but she was sure something would come up that she could take full advantage of and put the dealer down for the great, celestial, dirt nap.

And maybe then, she would go through his pockets for anything remotely more valuable than pocket lint. Despite Roman's and Neo's protests that she was a hitman and not a mugger. Ruby ignored them both as she still yet to receive an allowance.

Plus, the guy had tried to _shoot_ Roman when he found out that the crime lord knew that the arm's dealer was cheating him; _that_ was reason enough for some looting. And so, Ruby waited to kill him. And waited. Aaaaaand _waited_.

 _Just go into a dark alley already! Vacant lot! A sewer! I don't care, just move of the light so that I can kill you!_

Trained by Neo and Roman to not let her impatience turn into something that might give her away to one of her hits, Ruby settled for a dark glare directed at her quarry. The uncooperative jerk.

The glare, however, may have tipped off the man's more primal instincts, the instincts that had warned people that things were out to eat them and that they should run, very fast, in the opposite direction. The arm's dealer stopped dead in his tracks and glanced around warily before moving off again, faster than before. In fact, he was flat out _sprinting_.

 _DarndarndarndarnDARN!_ Ruby leaped across the rooftops, trying to keep the dealer in sight. She wasn't going to spend another day trying to find him, tonight _had_ to be his last night in one piece. If she failed and the man lived, if her rite of passage was ruined and she did not secure a place among the Torchwick Syndicate, she would be in utter and unforgivable disgrace and forced to become a hermit.

Hermitage was not a dream profession for Ruby and she doubled her speed to chase down her target.

Deciding to take the next possible chance to finish the job, Ruby slowed her pursuit on the rooftops as the man slowed down on the sidewalk below. Even from her height, Ruby could see the light reflecting off the arm's dealer's sweaty forehead.

The street he was on was empty and the streetlights few and far between. Her target was still trying to catch his breath. In other words, it was murder time.

Dropping silently down into a patch of street that was murk with darkness, Ruby crept to the each of her target's circle of light on feet as quiet as mist. Her clock making the tiniest amount of rustling as she reached under it to grip Crescent Rose, preparing to strike.

The man stiffened and peered into the night, primordial wariness warning him that something was out there, watching him.

"Is anyone there?" The man's right hand slid into his overcoat, presumably to grasp the handle of whatever weapon he had hidden in there. "If there is, you better come out now!"

"Okay!"

The man whirled around, but not quickly enough to avoid the scythe that gleamed like gore in the harsh streetlight. The blade of which cleaved into his right shoulder and kept going till it scraped up sparks from the surface of the sidewalk, a sidewalk that was quickly drenched in blood and littered with the severed arm of the man. A pistol still clutched in its pale fist.

Screaming was quickly cut out of the options list when his lungs were deflated as the wickedly curved blade slashed deep into his chest. Falling on his back amidst hard cement and wet blood, the arm's dealer last thought was the fact that the Grim Reaper was much shorter than he had previously believed.

Ruby stood over her fallen prey and waited until the last wet gurgle was forced out of his lips. When all was silent except for the sounds of the city. _First kill. Uh, I thought I would have been more torn up about this, but…_ She watched as the blood pooled closer to her boots. _There's just nothing to feel._

She sighed, as if the thoughts had tired her, and brought the blade of her sweetheart down to her level to clean the gore left by the man's corpse. The cloth she used quickly turning crimson and useless from the process of wiping the blade, Ruby resolved to properly clean her baby of mass destruction when she got home.

 _Speaking of which…_ Ruby looked down at the cadaver at her feet. _Let's finish this up._

Collecting the corpse's pieces and dragging them all into the recesses of a side alley, Ruby reached into the small pouch that hung at her belt and withdrew a Fire Dust crystal. She looked at the body, then at the crystal. _Well, this is going to be less than subtle, but what can you do?_

A few minutes later, with consuming fire now burning fiercely behind her and a trail of smoke drifting unseen in the night sky, Ruby Rose walked out of the alley and down the street, headed for home. She was ready to stand alongside Neo and Roman in the family business. To take her place in the world as a member of the Torchwick Syndicate. Ready to help her _family_.

Also, Ruby was ready to take a hot shower; she was pretty sure she had blood in her hair.

* * *

 _Yang Xiao Long, age seventeen_

Yang's eyes narrowed as the Ursa lumbered through the forest. Her breaths quiet and calm. Her eyes focused and determined as she followed its abyssal shape through the underbrush.

 _I've got this._ She clenched her fist, the comforting weight of Ember Celica resting on her wrists. _Ugly over there will never know what hit 'em._

Breathing deeply, Yang moved from her hiding spot underneath the tree and stalked the hulking monster through the sunlit forest, careful to not make a sound. Getting eaten just because she stepped on a twig would be too embarrassing to bear and when Ebon got to the afterlife, Yang would never hear the end of it.

 _Just a little closer._ Yang crept closer to the Ursa, its slow shambling making it easy to stalk and ambush. _Just a little bit closer…_

The Ursa's roar sent the woodland birds scattering away from the audio torture and made the trees shudder as the woodland nightmare-beast came barreling towards the Human youth.

 _Might have gotten a little too close!_

Yang rolled out of the way of the Ursa as it tore at her with claws the size of her forearm. Spinning out of her roll, the aspiring Huntress prepared to smash a Grimm's face in. Her irises leaking crimson red and her hair whirling around her face like a miniature fire-storm.

 _Complete this, you can get into Beacon. Get into Beacon, you can become a huntress. Become a huntress, and you can finally kill every single one of these monsters!_

Her fist clenched and gauntlets ready, Yang charged the Ursa, shouting. "Come on! Let's see how hungry you really are!"

And with the roars of the Grimm and the blasts of gunfire, the forest was transformed into a war zone with the acceptance into the most prestigious academy in the world hanging on the outcome. And with Yang Xiao Long driven on by her thirst for vengeance and memories of when her family was whole and happy, the soulless Grimm didn't stand a chance.

When the Ursa was dissolving back into carnal shadows at her feet, Yang Xiao Long of Patch wanted to throw back her head and scream out her victory for the whole world to hear. But instead, she simply smiled as the glimmering of tears appeared at the corner of her eyes, where violent crimson was slowly being replaced by calm lilac.

 _I did it, mom, Ruby. I finally did it. You can rest now; I'm going to Beacon to avenge you both. Please, rest now._

Retracting her gauntlets, Yang made her way back through the forest and towards where her instructors were awaiting news of her victory. And in just a few short months, because of today and what happened amidst the trees, she would be on the airship to Beacon and taking the next step of her life as a guardian. As a protector of the innocent and punisher of the wicked.

As a Huntress of Remnant.

* * *

 _Ruby Rose, age fifteen_

"I feel like celebrating my first hit is really morbid." Ruby looked at the glass of sparkling liquid in her hand and then back at Roman, her legs swinging from where she sat on the countertop. "Don'tcha think?"

Instead of giving her a straight answer, Roman just shrugged as he wiped at some microscopic dirt speck on the kitchen counter. "I… _know_ a person who writes down his every kill in what he calls his _Victory Book_. This is normal for people like us."

" _Still morbid, though!"_ Neo lazily pointed at Roman from where she lounged on the sofa. _"And these drinks taste like watermelon!"_

"What's wrong with watermelon?" Roman turned to Neo, a single eyebrow raised. "I like watermelon."

" _Yeah, well you also like cleaning, so how much can we truly trust your taste in beverages?"_

"Don't you live under the stairs like some sort of gremlin?" Roman raised a slow eyebrow. "Why are you judging my choices in drinks?"

" _That is all completely irrelevant."_ Neo crossed her arms. _"Don't use my bedroom choices to justifying your poor taste in fruity drinks!"_

"Did we really go from celebrating my first kill to arguing about watermelons?" Ruby asked, leaning back in her seat. "How did that even happen?"

"I'm not sure." Roman picked up his own glass of the supposed watermelon liquid and studied it as if it might give the answers to the mystery that was his daughter. "I think Neo is slowly going insane and trying to drag the rest of us down her dark path."

Neo responded by throwing a couch pillow at them and Ruby stuck out her tongue in retort. Roman just caught the pillow.

" _You've both totally ruined the moment."_ Neo looked positively grumpy as Roman walked over to place the pillow back where it belonged. _"Utterly destroyed it!"_

"There wasn't much of a moment to begin with. Ro' made a weird, gremlin comment and you threw things at us." Ruby stretched, her glass tilting dangerously in her hand. "So, with _that_ out of the way, what now?"

"We go about business as usual." Roman moved from where he leaned against the counter and placed his hands on Ruby's shoulders. "Except now, you are an official member of the Torchwick Syndicate."

"Does that mean I get paid now?"

"Always focusing on what's important, eh?" Roman rolled his shoulders in a small shrug. "You're a Syndicate hitman now. You'll get paid every week you remain as such."

The young hitman brightened at that. "That sounds simple! I like simple! But what if I can't kill the person?"

Roman bent down to look Ruby in the eye. "Are we talking about morally or physically?"

"Given the fact that I just bisected a dude a few hours ago, I don't think morals will be much of a problem." Ruby fidgeted, her eyes wide. "I mean, what if I go up against a seven-foot guy with flaming chainsaws for arms?"

Neo rolled her eyes.

Roman, however, give it a kinder response. "It would be an interesting fight, to say the least." He rose back up to his feet. "But if a hitman fails, it usually means they were imprisoned or killed. Either way, not getting paid would be the least of your problems."

"So, don't worry about it?" If Ruby was being honest to herself, that was not exactly the answer she wanted, but then again, it was the only answer she got. "Or just don't fail?"

"Do your best and try not to die," Roman said instead. "Me and Neo would miss you if you keeled over in an alley somewhere."

" _I would definitely be sad."_ Neo nodded sagely before pointing a firm finger at Ruby. _"So, no dying! It's not allowed anymore."_

"That's an order I will happily follow." Ruby snapped her fingers. "Oh! Before I forget, don't we have a new job offer?"

Roman nodded, moving back to his old spot against the kitchen granite. "I was going to meet the client tomorrow, out in the Glenn ruins."

Ruby and Neo shared a quick glance. "Uh, _Mount_ Glenn?"

Roman nodded.

" _As in the Grimm-infested mass grave of horrible death?"_

Roman smirked. "Apparently, the new client shares your taste in dramatics, Neo." He stared at the two girls before him, considering. "I was going to meet the client alone, but if you two want to come along, you can."

Neo arched an eyebrow. _"And what will the client think about that?"_

"Whether they know it or not, they will be facing the most feared enforcer of the Syndetic and a hitman who is a prodigy with one of the most dangerous weapons on the planet." Roman crossed his arms. "They should be _very_ afraid."

"Fun times." Ruby rubbed her hands together like some sort of small fiend. "Alright, I'm in. When are we leaving?"

"Late tomorrow night." Roman plucked his cane from where it leaned against the kitchen counter. "We take one of the Bullheads to the outskirts of the city and then meet in a nearby theater that used to be called the _Evening Star_."

Ruby's eyebrows drew together. " _Used_ to?"

"I think the title _Filthy Pile of Useless Rubble_ would be more accurate today, but that could just be me." Roman the Ever Fastidious said while standing in what could very well be the cleanest home in Vale.

"I think that's just you." Ruby hopped down from the counter. "Anyways, today has been fun in a weird sort of way, but I'm tired and want to go to bed."

" _I can get behind that."_ Neo rose from her position on the sofa, untangling her limbs as she stood to her feet. _"I have had a long day of doing nothing and laziness calls."_

Roman rolled his eyes. "If the men knew what you did on your day off, I think your reputation of being a dangerous lunatic would take a downward plunge."

" _Hey! Aren't I the 'most feared enforcer in the_ S _yndetic'?"_ Neo waved her hands mockingly. Ruby nodded.

"Yeah, a lazy, dangerous lunatic is still a dangerous lunatic. You just have to wait a bit until she gets around to killing you."

"You know, you two are the reason why the Atlasians think I run a bizarre operation." Roman said, trying to be serious, but not being help the amused twitch of his lips.

"That's because the Atlasians are a bunch of stuck-up snobs with no sense of humor or fun!" Ruby frowned, thinking lowly of the northern mob. "But that's okay since we could crush them if we wanted, right?"

"Without a doubt." Roman agreed before bouncing his cane off the floor and catching it in his hand. "Now, without any more distractions, good-night, you two."

"Good-night, Ro'!" Ruby called out as he went off to his bedroom alcove at the other end of the loft, leaving her and Neo alone.

" _Welp, there is a pillow calling me and I hate standing people up. See you in the morning, Rubies."_ Neo padded towards the spiral staircase where she had created a nest of comforters and pillows on a bed Ruby had never seen, all in varying shades of pink, between the iron stairs and the wall.

"Good night!" Ruby moved from the kitchen, still awash with artificial light, and stood in front of the windows that looked out over Vale.

 _I am a hitman now._ The full meaning of the word rushed through Ruby like a stream through forest earth. _I kill people for money, I already killed a person simply for the right to do that._ Ruby frowned at that and shook her head. _Wow, way to state the obvious, Ruby._

Deciding that was enough thinking about _that_ for tonight, Ruby rubbed at her forehead and got away from the "Window of Weird and Slightly Morally Thoughts". Switching off the lights as she came to them, she headed towards the staircase and bed. Neo was practically buried in her nest when Ruby tiptoed up the iron stairs, seemingly fast asleep.

Ruby, however, knew that one sudden movement or one noise louder than the hum of her own breathing would bring her out of her tangle of comforters so fast that she would just be a blur of color and flashing steel. Ruby learned that Neo slept with her parasol by her side the hard and painful way.

Tiptoeing up the spiral staircase, she crept to her bed and slipped underneath the blankets. Ruby took a deep breath, the memories of the day rushing through her head like a great swell, and felt her body relax and her mind cut loose the mooring with the coherent world.

 _I wonder what would happen if the Grimm didn't attack my birth family?_ The thought, like all deep and answerless thoughts, popped into Ruby's head as she started to drift off, the faint smell of rose petals and cinnamon accompanying it, something that came with every memory of her old family though Ruby had no idea why. _Would I be raised to respect all life and people?_ _Would I be thought to preserve it all? Would I want to become a hero?_ Ruby dwelt on that for a moment before stifling a giggle. _Nah, that's STUPID!_

* * *

 _Yang Xiao Long, age seventeen_

Ebon Winters was sitting in her friend's front yard, looking up at the starry sky and trying to ignore the shouting match that was happening in the house behind her.

All was not well in the Xiao Long household. In fact, things seemed to be on the brink of a second Great War. And all because Yang wanted to be a Huntress.

Which, of course, was an explosive issue with Taiyang Xiao Long, Yang's father and ex-Huntsman.

"Why not?" That was Yang, very close to shouting at the top of her lungs. "Why are you so against the idea of me saving lives?"

"Because you'll be putting _yours_ on the line to do so." Her father's voice was calm, but less of an 'everything is good' calm and more of a 'this is my furious whispery voice' kind of calm. Honestly, Ebon preferred Yang's method of loud yelling, it was less creepy.

"I will do what I want with _my_ life," Yang sounded out of breath as if her rage was constricting her lungs. "and I want to _help_ people! To give them hope! To make sure that what happened to Mom and Ruby DOESN'T HAPPEN TO ANYONE ELSE!"

"But what if it happens to you?" Taiyang's voice rose. "What if the _exact same thing happens to you_? What good can you do if you're _dead_?"

Silence engulfed the house and Ebon turned around, looking through the kitchen window to see the Xiao Long family staring at each other in a terrible mix of anger, shock, and grief. On opposite sides of the kitchen, it looked as if they were about to engage in a duel.

Ebon hoped they weren't about to engage in a duel.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Yang spoke. "What good can I do if I don't even try? What can I do if I just sit here, safe and warm, when people are dying _every day_? What good can I do if I am too much of a coward to even realize that my life doesn't outweigh the lives of dozens of others?"

"Don't say that." Her father slashed his hand punitively through the air. "Never say that. Your life is worth more to _me_ , your life is more to _Ebon_. And what about her, what does she think of all this?"

"Ebon supports me in my decisions. She's becoming a Huntress too, you know." Yang looked coolly at her father. "But this isn't about Ebon, so leave her out of it. This whole thing is about you and your assumption that you can decide what I do with my life, an assumption that is _very_ wrong by the way."

"I'm not losing you too." Taiyang said, looking angry. "I'm not letting you go off just because you have a _death wish_."

"I don't want to die!" Yang's back was straight and strong. "But I refuse to let the fear that I _might_ , stop me from saving lives. I know that becoming a Hunter is dangerous, I _know_ that I _could_ be killed." She stepped forward, closer to her father. "But more people _will_ be killed if someone isn't out there protecting them, so why shouldn't it be me?"

"Because it doesn't have to be you. There are hundreds of others who want to be hunters, there are hundreds of others who _will_ be Hunters. There is no reason why you should put your life on the line when you do not have to."

"Dad, I-"

"No, Yang." His voice was calm and quiet, but there was steel stamped into each word. "This conversation is done. We can talk about this in the morning if you are still hanging onto these dreams, but for right now I think it would be best if we both went to bed."

Taiyang moved past his daughter, walking out of the kitchen and away from Ebon's sight. Yang was left alone in the kitchen with only her thoughts and her anger. For a minute, she stood as if she was still arguing with her father, but then her fists clenched and her face contorted with rage. Whirling in a flash of golden hair, Yang stormed out of the kitchen.

Ebon waited in the yard. Since Plan A went up in flames and angry words, then Plan B would have to do. Still, Ebon was looking forward to not being _anywhere_ near here when Taiyang woke up in the morning.

Near-silent footsteps approached her and she turned to see Yang standing with her weapons on her wrist and a pack on her back. Ebon smiled faintly.

"You packed quick, got everything you need?"

Yang snorted. "Everything except dad's approval, but that's not essential." She offered her hand to Ebon. "Ready to go?"

"Definitely ready to leave your yard." Ebon grasped Yang's hand and pulled herself up, her own pack rustling slightly with the movement. "Let's go fight some monsters."

"Ebon, it's a school, they are probably not going to fling us to the Grimm on our first day there."

"No. no, no. It is a _Hunter_ academy. The staff is most definitely going to make us fight huge abominations just to break the ice." Ebon pointed a finger at Yang as they began walking away from the warm house behind them. "That's what Hunter academies are like, their staff is almost always partially insane."

Yang grinned and shook her head. "I still think you may be in for a disappointing surprise, but sure. Why not?"

"That's the spirit!" And with that, Ebon marched forward boldly. No hesitant thoughts seemingly to hold her back. But Yang was not so free of the crawling thoughts of doubt that made her wonder if she made the right decision, if maybe her father was right about this being an idiot's endeavor.

 _No!_ Yang squished down every rebellious thought deep down inside of her, grinding off their gnawing edge. _This is what kept me going through every nightmare, through every dark moment, this is what I have to do to avenge my family._

"Are you okay?" Ebon looked at Yang, eyebrows lifted over gentle eyes, she noticed the worried look that darkened her friend's face. The runaway nodded and smiled softly.

"Yeah, I'm good. I mean, I am most definitely disowned now, but other than that, I'm good."

"Your dad is not going to disown you." Ebon nudged Yang as the dirt path under their feet joined with the proper road towards town and the nearest airship ferry. "He's going to be furious, sure, but he'll get over it because you have a good dad and that is what good dads do."

"I hope you're right." Yang couldn't help but think back on the words that were exchanged in the kitchen. Ebon nudged her again, harder this time.

"Of course I'm right, now come on! We have an airship to catch, Grimm to kill, and people to save!"

Her energy untarnished, the Huntress, for that is what she already was in her mind, charged forward in the darkness. Her friend laughed and quickened her pace to keep up.

As they completed the first step of their journey, Yang couldn't help but smile. They did it, _she_ did it. She was well on her way to making good on her promise she made to the memories of her lost family those years ago. She was going to avenge them, immortalize their memories with every Grimm she slaughtered.

And Yang, running away from home as the night sky spun in its mass of light and darkness high above her, _knew_ she was going to become a hero.

* * *

 **It may be long, but this backstory is pretty much essential for things later on (Plus it is a good way to show the vastly different paths Ruby and Yang are taking). A note to remember is that I will not be publishing two chapters at once from here on out, not normally anyway. So, I'm sorry about that.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **The next update will be on 1/4/2019 (Also, happy new year!)**


	3. Dust Shops, Robbery, and Beacon

**Hello and welcome to the third chapter of Bloodbound! Enjoy!**

* * *

When Ruby found out that most Hunters died before they turned thirty, she was _less_ than pleased.

If it were just another ordinary day committing crimes and threatening people, she would have just probably laughed and wondered how incredibly _stupid_ a person had to be to actually _want_ to become a Hunter of Remnant.

But not this day. Today, Ruby just wondered if anyone would care if she drove Crescent Rose's blade into Cinder Fall's smug, annoying face. Because the haughty nuisance had just given _the_ most suicidal, most idiotic, most horrible order in the _history_ of suicidal, idiotic, horrible orders!

"I want you two to infiltrate Beacon."

If it wasn't common knowledge that Cinder Fall had a sense of humor the size of a peanut, Ruby and Neo probably would have howled with laughter. But they didn't, because Cinder Fall had a sense of humor the size of a _peanut_ and would sooner get struck by lightning than crack a joke.

 _Gods, I wish she would get struck by lightning, her and her little lackeys._ Instead of saying _this_ to Cinder's face, Ruby just settled with a horrified expression on her face and one very loud word.

"WHAT?!" She thought that summed up her inner turmoil quite well.

"You heard me, Rose." Cinder replied coldly, her icy voice a stark contrast to the eldritch fire that always seemed to dance behind her golden eyes. "I want you and Neopolitan to infiltrate Beacon Academy, Roman will handle the nuances, but I expect you there at the start of this term."

" _Why the Hells do we need to do THAT_ _for?"_ Neo was less visibly horrified and more blindingly furious about her new orders. _"It doesn't even make sense! What? Are you worried about our education now? Are you trying to get your minions replaced? Are you trying to get us killed? Is that it?!"_

"Control your _tone_ with me, girl." Cinder snapped. A brief spell of silence fell over the small, bare room in which Neo looked at their boss with such an enraged expression on her face, Ruby was worried she might actually have to restrain the shorter girl from leaping out of her seat and messily murdering the person across from them. Gritting her teeth, Cinder moved on.

"It is not a suicide mission, I'm going to be infiltrating it as well, but not until next semester." Cinder locked eyes with the two people sitting across from her and Ruby was reminded exactly _why_ Roman had agreed to work with this woman _even if_ she threatened to kill him several times a day.

Cinder Fall was not a fun person to be around. In fact, she was downright terrifying.

"What I want you to do is integrate yourselves with the staff and other students, act like any other aspiring Hunter, and be ready to carry out _any_ assignments I might give to you. I want spies in place before I arrive and I want a Plan B in case things go wrong for us, you will be both. Understand?"

Both Ruby and Neo nodded silently, they understood and _still_ hated this entire plan.

 _I'm a hitman, not a student! I know how to kill a man, not algebra!_ Ruby resisted the urge to bury her head in her hands in despair. Neo looked like she wanted to kill someone slowly and painfully. Cinder, however, looked way too pleased for Ruby's liking.

"Good." A short pause, and then Cinder smirked. "Oh, before I forget, the age requirement to attend Beacon is seventeen. So Ruby? I advise you obtain _strong_ transcripts."

Ruby stared at the person she grudgingly referred to as boss and for the second time that day, let all her conflict come pouring out in a single word.

" _WHAT_?!"

xXx

When Neo and Ruby emerged from the private room where they were ordered about by Cinder and stormed up the stars into the nightclub above them, Ruby still looked shell-shock and Neo had a snarl on her face that rivaled a Beowolf's.

It was so brutal looking in fact, that all of the thugs that patrolled the nightclub were ducking out of the enforcer's path. The sight of a man literally throwing his friend back behind him and sprinting away as fast as his feet could carry him did wonders for Ruby's mood.

"On the bright side, we know a _lot_ of people who are _reeeeally_ good at forging fake documents. We won't even have to pay for them!" Ruby offered a smile at Neo and just got a glower in return.

" _We're not doing this, Ruby."_ Neo turned her head back forwards, her eyes hard as splinters of stone. _"No way in all of the Hells are we doing this."_

"Uh…" Ruby moved closer to her. "I don't think we have much of a choice. It's either this or a fiery death, that's how Cinder does things. It's all commands and death threats."

" _I KNOW!"_ Neo threw her arms up into the air, nearly smacking Ruby in the face as she did so. _"We are marching into Beacon like morons because if we don't, Cindy will flambé us all! Is that about it?!"_

"Yep."

Neo visibly deflated. " _Wonderful. First, the White Fang, now this. Our life has really jumped the rails in the past year."_

"And crashed and burned." Ruby nodded sagely, her eyes flickered to look at something behind Neo and she grimaced. "We should go and see what Ro thinks of this entire nightmare, Junior is giving us the stink-eye."

Neo glanced behind her to see the owner of the nightclub and fellow criminal, Hei "Junior" Xiong, glaring at them from the safety of his bar. She replied with a vulgar gesture and a sneer. She never liked the man or his unimaginative use of aliases.

"Neo, be nice before we have to beat dozens of Junior's thugs." Ruby placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to push the still glaring girl out the door and into the late afternoon light beyond. "Would you please move? It will be embarrassing if I have to push you all the way home."

Neo snorted but started walking away from the now-fuming Junior. Ruby followed with a wave towards the thugs before the club's doors shut. They had a lot to do.

* * *

" _YOU KNEW THAT CINDER HAD LOST HER MIND?!"_

Roman sighed and lifted his head from the stack of papers, probably documents to help them get into Beacon. They had returned to the Loft and found Roman pouring over paperwork, his hat discarded beside him. When they told him what Cinder wanted, he merely nodded resignedly.

"I knew about this… _plan_ about five hours before you did." He shook his head, anger beginning to contort his features. "Cinder made it _clear_ that her mind was made up. She was going through with this plan of hers and told me I'd best find a way to get you two into Beacon without arousing any suspicion.

Neo studied him for a minute. _"You want to murder Cinder too, don't you?"_

"With putting you two in extreme danger? Yes, definitely, preferably with a shovel."

Neo chuckled darkly, albeit hoarsely, and returned to staring out the window as the Kingdom of Vale fall under the cover of dusk. Ruby poked her head out from the kitchen and looked suspiciously at Roman.

"Okay, wait a minute, the students at Beacon are divided into teams of four, right?" When Roman nodded, Ruby frowned and continued.

"That means, assuming we get accepted in the first place, we would have two idiotic do-gooders-in-training on our team, a team that is supposed to be back-up and spies for an insane criminal." Ruby fully emerged from the kitchen and placed her hands on her hips. "I have issues with this."

"So, do I," Roman said, looking back down at his paperwork. "Which is why I took the matter of your team into my own hands. A Syndicate member and someone who owes me a _huge_ favor will be waiting for you on the ferry to Beacon. Even with my help, do your best to make _sure_ that they are on your team, just to be safe."

Neo tilted her head back and squinted. _"I don't like the fact that we're meeting them at the same time that we're going to one of the most dangerous places for criminals in the world."_

"Well, when you put it like that, no wonder you don't like the sound of it." Roman tapped a document in front of him. "But my hands are tied trying to set up a meeting sooner. The Syndicate member is working a job in Mistral and needs time to finish up and get back to Vale, as for the other person…" Roman frowned. "You know; I don't actually know where he is or what he's doing there. Probably nothing good."

"Then why use him at all?" Ruby lifted her eyebrows. "He isn't even a member of the Syndicate and seems to be a bit unreliable." Neo nodded her agreement.

Roman grimaced. "Because I don't have any other options. The age requirement for _any_ Hunter academy is seventeen and, unlike the government, I'm not swimming in child soldiers. Three Syndicate members, including you two, are the only ones who are even _close_ to the right age. The person who owes me the favor is the only other person I could think that is around seventeen."

"Okay, that makes sense. But speaking of the age requirement, I'm only fifteen! How on Remnant am _I_ going to get into _Beacon_?" Ruby cast out her hands in front of her and looked between her family, searching for answers.

"I have no idea." Roman glanced back down at the documents spread out in front of him on the coffee table. "But I'll find out and we have time to put something into action. Rubbing his face, Roman stood up and placed his hat back on his head. "Tonight, however, I have to finish up a job for our dear boss, I'll be back soon."

Neo lifted an eyebrow at the thought of Roman _still_ listening to Cinder during all of this before dismissing it for something far more important. _"We could just go with the Lying Through Our Teeth route with Ruby's age. I mean, with some good forged transcripts, how hard can it be?"_

Roman shook his head negatively. "Cinder explicitly stated she wanted no room for error and anyone with half a brain can tell Ruby isn't seventeen, good forged transcripts or no."

Ruby's eyebrows scrunched together. "I feel kinda offended by that."

"I can't tell you if you should or not." Roman shrugged, picking his cane up from where it leaned against the coffee table. Neo just waved away Ruby's offense without turning away from her view of the light-filled skyline of Vale.

"Well, since I can't do anything here except raise concerns and get sorta-offended-" Ruby paused and looked thoughtful. "I'm pretty sure that's a thing…mm, anyways! Ro, can I help you with the job? I need to blow off some steam before the stress drives me up the wall."

To Ruby's great surprise and even greater disappointment, Roman shook his head, an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry, Red, with this new assignment of ours coming up, I can't risk you on a public job like this one. Beacon may be fooled by fake transcripts but even _they_ pay attention when one of their applicants appears on the nightly news."

"What if I wear a mask?" She tried to bargain but to no success. Roman was steadfast in his insistence that she not be seen aiding the crime lord of Vale.

"We need you to make friends at Beacon, not in prison." Was the general, and rather truthful, statement he kept coming back to. Ruby still had a frown on her face by the end of it though.

"Okay, I see where you are coming from." She said slowly. "But I think it's stupid and I still want to rob someone."

" _You're a hitman, not a mugger! You don't even need to rob people in the first place, you have a salary!"_ Neo called from the windowsill, looking as if Ruby's kleptomaniacal tendencies had personally offended her honor.

"I don't like limiting my horizons, you do that and you'll never have any spending money to buy more weapons." The resident kleptomaniac pointed a finger at Neo dramatically. "Always push those horizons till they cough up their last lien. This is my advice to you, heed it well."

Roman chuckled softly before shaking his head, suddenly somber. "Seriously though, act like normal huntresses-in-training unless told otherwise, this applies to the both of you. This assignment means that things are finally beginning to move towards the climax of whatever Cinder has planned. Because of such, _no crimes until further notice._ Okay?"

From the way Neo dropped Deadly Elegance to the ground and let out a harsh sound that might have been a scream of horror, things were definitely _not_ okay. But Ruby just looked at Roman blankly.

"Well, can I go for a walk at least?"

"Of course, but no mugging people. Now, I should probably get going, I need to pick up some grunts from Junior's for tonight's job. I don't want to waste Syndicate manpower on another run-of-the-mill robbery." Roman waved goodbye to Ruby and the still-recovering Neo and walked down the staircase that led to the warehouse below. A moment later, the grating sounds of heavy doors opening and closing indicated Roman was gone.

Briefly, Ruby considered going out and mugging someone _despite_ everything she just heard. However, while a criminal, she wasn't stupid and shoved her destructive desires deep, _deep_ , down. Making sure Crescent Rose was in the sling on her back and her cloak was snugly in place, Ruby notified Neo of her evening plans.

"I'm going for a walk; I'll be back in a few hours" She called over her shoulder as she descended the spiral staircase. Glancing back behind her, Ruby saw Neo give a vague wave of confirmation, the shorter girl looking as if she was struggling with some unanswerable philosophical questions.

 _Wow, okay, note to self, don't keep Neo away from committing criminal activities if I don't want to traumatize her._ Ruby's feet hit the cement floor of the warehouse with a soft echo of sound, the Loft's lights wavering down from the top of the staircase, a much larger and weathered version of the one in the Loft.

Stepping out of the warehouse, the outside world greeted Ruby with the smell of chemicals and the faint wisps of seawater. A smell that had become much less noticeable as she grew up.

 _Probably because it has killed my nose._ Ruby thought idly as she made her way to the main districts of Vale, not having any clear destination in mind, but just content with walking as the air shifted from foul vapors to the sweeter tang of the autumn night.

 _What to do? Can't rob people, can't collect on any hits, can't even threaten the people who owe us money!_ Ruby stroke her chin thoughtfully, possibilities running through her mind at a rapid pace and being shot down even faster. _Okay, screw it, screw it! I'm going to a Dust shop! But somewhere familiar and peaceful…mhm_

Her eyes suddenly lit up as the perfect place dropped into her mind. With a smile on her face, Ruby flashed down city blocks, a trail of rose petals marking her way.

All the way to a small shop proudly proclaimed to be "From Dust Till Dawn".

* * *

"Where is the new issue of _Weapon Merchant_?!" Ruby glowered at the magazine stand in the back of From Dust Till Dawn, one of her favorite Dust shops. Though for how much longer, she did not know.

"I've waited for an entire _month_ and they don't even have the common decency to do their _job_?"

As Ruby was ranting, the bell over the door rang merrily, and a tall, brunette girl with a huge, curved sword strapped slantwise onto her back and arrows quivered at her waist came barreling inside the warm confines of the store, mumbling under her breath. The shopkeeper just shook his head; it was going to be one of those nights, apparently.

The newcomer made an immediate beeline for the magazine stand and scanned the labels rapidly. Her face fell when she saw a certain, so-called monthly missing from its fellows. The girl slapped a hand over her face and groaned aloud.

"Oh, come _on_! First, the rising Dust prices and now _Weapon Merchant_ isn't publishing?! At this rate, the Grimm will be popping out of the ground within the year!"

"I know!" Ruby turned to her livid companion. "And they were supposed to run an article on the new Crystal Scythe series this month!"

"Right?!" The girl lowered her hand to reveal enraged ebony eyes. " _And_ they were going to reveal the Berserker Longsword! This is what we get for trusting in an inept corporation!"

The two weapon enthusiasts simmered in a loathful silence for a moment before the newcomer offered her hand to Ruby.

"HI, I'm Ebon Winters. Thanks for enabling my rant." Ebon tossed her black bangs out of her eyes. "It helped a _lot_."

Ruby shook her hand. "Ruby Rose, and it was no problem at all. Everyone needs to rant once and while."

When Ruby said her name, a strange look passed over Ebon's face, but It was gone as soon as it came and Ruby thought she _must_ have imagined it.

"So, are you a huntress?" She gestured to Ebon's sword. _Looks like a nodachi, but the question is what are the arrows for?_ the sword maiden shrugged in response to Ruby's inquire about her profession.

"Only in training, I actually haven't even started at Beacon yet. Are you from Signal?"

"Uh…" _Crap, now what?_ "No, no, I'm not." Ruby shifted a little which only made her cloak flutter aside to reveal Crescent Rose on the small of her back. Ebon's eyes widened.

"Wait _,_ hold everything, is that an HCSS?"

Ruby blinked, before today very _few_ people had recognized a High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe in compact form, meaning very few people had recognized Crescent Rose in its compact form. Until this girl know as Ebon Winters came raging into her life.

Ruby very briefly considered proposing.

 _Nah, Roman would kill me if I did that this young, then Neo would kill Ebon…for encroaching on her territory or something. She's weird like that._ Shaking her head to clear of the unimportant thoughts, Ruby prepared to leap into a weapons-filled discussion with Ebon when…

"Please, just take my lien and leave!"

The shopkeeper's plea was accompanied by the hum of a Dust-powered pistol; Ruby knew the sound well. _Crap._

"What the-" Ebon started to murmur before she as cut off by a well-cultured voice shushed the poor man soothingly.

"We're not after your lien. Take the Dust." Roman Torchwick, crime lord and most wanted man in the kingdom of Vale, ordered curtly.

 _Oh, CRAP!_ Ruby began breathing rapidly, on the cusp of hyperventilating, before she felt hands on either side of her face and Ebon whispering soothingly.

"Hey, it's alright. Just breath, but you have to try and stay quiet, okay?" She offered a small smile as Ruby stared back, eyes wide with panic.

 _You FOOL! That's not why I'm panicking! I'm panicking because my basically father is robbing the store while a huntress-in-freaking-training is inside and I can't help him because I have to infiltrate Beacon and they might NOTICE if one of their hopefuls killed another one of their hopefuls to try and hid the BLINDINGLY obvious fact that the homicidal hopeful works for ROMAN TORCHWICK!_

On the outside, Ruby continued to hyperventilate. Just quieter in hopes of not attaching any attention and letting this entire situation go down with the less amount of violence possible. However, through a combination of horrible luck and the huntress-in-training at her side, attention found them.

"Hey! You two! Hands where I can see 'em!" A thug dressed in the cheap suit that Ruby recognized as the uniform of Junior's mercenaries. Armed with a crimson blade, the thug walked towards them menacingly. "You have a death wish or something? I said hand where I can see-"

His words were lost in the whoosh of air that was pushed out of him when Ebon Winters tackled him to the ground, screaming like a drunken banshee. Ruby's eyes fluttered close in a moment of grim acceptance.

 _Craaaaaap._

When other thugs came rushing in to attack Ebon, they were met by a rushing blur of red who snatched one of their numbers and launched out the window, using the man's body as a shield against the broken glass. A thought passed through Ruby's head as glass shards flew all around her.

 _I'm going to have to fight Roman and it's going to be horrible for everybody!_

xXx

Roman saw the red blur out of the corner of his eye and had to snap out of his shock state when he realized that the shop's security cameras were still running and the girl who was practically his daughter was beating the tar out of his men.

 _Well, technically Junior's men, but I have bigger things to worry about than who belongs to who._ Rushing to see who was screaming like the damned, Roman risked a glance to see Ruby slowly rising off the ground, her scythe unfolding and the man who she attacked laying unconscious at her feet.

 _Right, that…._

"What are you waiting for? Get her!" He snapped at his remaining thugs who piled out of the broken window in their rush to avenge their fallen comrade.

 _Got to appear like I don't know what's going on or who anyone is especially with the old man and-Sweet Dust, who even ARE you and why do you need a sword THAT big?_ Roman looked in annoyance as a girl who practically screamed huntress-in-training leaped to her feet and pulled a sword nearly the size of Roman off her back, another one of his thugs laying comatose on the floor.

"You know, hiring that guy was expensive." Roman leveled his gaze at the sword-wielding thug-stomper. "Not to mention the fact that you and your strange little friend just ruined my robbery."

The thug-stomper merely snarled (Which did not surprise Roman in the least, she looked like the person who snarled and hunted down large mammals with her teeth) and leaped at him, her sword a blur of violence as it tried to remove his hamstrings from his legs.

"Stomper, I'm-*CLANG*-going to have to ask you to-*THUD*-stop trying to maim me-*WHACK*-and leave the premises-*CLUNK*- immediately." With that Roman dodged another slash from the girl's huge sword and wrapped the curved handle of Melodic Cudgel around her neck, a smirk rising on his lips at the sight of the girl's enraged expression. "Thank you for your cooperation."

And then Roman hurled the newly-dubbed "Stomper" out of the broken window and into the brawl that had exploded outside. A very one-sided brawl…a slaughter of the highest degree, really.

Roman watched as a thug went flying off into the night sky after being intimately introduced to the blunt end of Crescent Rose. He lifted his eyebrows in surprise. _Well, glad to see Ruby holding back._

The shards of glass crunching under the soles of his shoes, Roman jumped into the empty street and nudged one of the thugs with his cane. "An exceptional purchase once again. Worth _every_ penny, truly you were." He looked back up to face his opponents.

Roman locked eyes with the two girls who now stood before him. Stomper had a death-glare on her face while Ruby dipped her head in the barest indication of a nod, her eyes looking into his.

 _I guess we're doing this then. Well, no point in waiting._

Letting another smirk rest upon his face, Roman flourished mockingly at his two opponents. "Well, Red and, yes, you too, Stomper, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening, and as much as I would _love_ to stick around…" A slight mecha-shift later and suddenly Ebon and Ruby found themselves staring down the barrel of Melodic Cudgel's canon. "This is where we part ways!" He pulled the trigger and a squealing ball of Dust was launched straight at their chests.

Using Crescent Rose, Ruby _shot_ herself out of the way while Ebon chose the more classic approach and just threw herself to the side, however, the pair quickly lost all sense of anything as the Dust exploded in flashes of destructive color and sound.

 _I hope this guy is a runner instead of a fighter because I CAN'T SEE A THING!_

" _I swear to the GODS, if Roman hits me in the head while I'm in this mess, I'll sic Neo on him! Wait, no, Neo will just laugh at me, dang it!_

Fortunately for the both of them, when the debris settled down, Roman Torchwick was gone. Ebon cursed to herself and whirled around, trying to spot the criminal. Ruby just give a sigh of relief, at least she did not have to try and beat up her father figure now!

"There he is! Let's go!"

Or not. Ruby looked as Ebon Winters sprinted after the fleeing crime lord before turning to face the shopkeeper who as crawling out of the wreckage. "You mind if I go after him?"

 _In for a penny, in for a pound._

The shopkeeper having _no_ problem at all with Ruby chasing down an armed felon, she burst forward until she was running alongside the much more eager huntress-in-training. Looking to where Ebon was glaring, Ruby saw Roman escaping up a fire escape, trying to get to the roof.

 _He's going to get himself cornered._ Ruby frowned as she used Crescent Rose's recoil to propel herself up to the roof.

"Hey! Weird man in the stupid hat!"

Roman turned around slowly and gave Ruby the stink-eye. "Well, aren't you persistent and _way_ too into this."

As Ruby was about to respond, the quiet, night wind lifted to a scream and the roar of engines filled the air, like some sea beast emerging from the waves, a Bullhead rose into the air above the roof on which the two were standing and shined one of its much-too bright light at Ruby.

She responded with a glare. She didn't know _who_ was driving the small airship, but if they continued to shine that light into her eyes, she was going to find out and kick them in the head, the inconsiderate jerk.

The Bullhead's hatch opened just as Ebon came barreling over the roof's edge, her sword like a steel thorn, wicked in the light of the airship. Roman did not even look at her as he leaped into the Bullhead and turned back to face them, slipping a large Fire Dust crystal out of his jacket. "End of the line, kiddies!"

Ruby's eyes widened. _He wouldn't!_

As if in direct mockery to Ruby's disbelief, he hurled the crystal at them and aimed his cane as it skated across the rooftop, a smile on his face as he fired another bolt of Dust directly at the volatile crystal. Ruby resisted the urge to let everyone on the roof examine her middle finger.

When the two types of Dust collided, Ruby expected to be flung off the roof, possibly with her clothes on fire, what she was _not_ expected was some caped woman to jump in from nowhere and make a large, gleaming glyph appear in the air. The force of the explosion deflecting off its simmering lines.

 _Huh?_

"Huh?" Through the rapidly thinning smoke, Ruby saw Roman looking as confused as she felt. The woman, however, simply adjusted her glasses and waved what Ruby recognized, with even more confusion, as a riding crop.

Her seemingly endless amount of questions went forgotten, however, when streaks of purple aura flashed out of the women's riding crop and struck the Bullhead with the force of a cannonball. Over the dull thud of aura striking metal, Ruby heard the unmistakable sounds of Roman nearly falling over and swearing.

 _Ha! Serves you right, you Dust-throwing maniac!_ Ruby grinned smugly. But when Roman snarled at the woman and stumbled his way into the cockpit of the Bullhead, Ruby's grin dropped off her face like a rock as the woman, who Ruby assumed to be a proper Huntress, unleashed her own sphere of Dust and launched it at the sky above the Bullhead.

Dark clouds formed ominously and rained down shards of crystal upon the airship, one fragment going straight through the windshield of the Bullhead.

"No! Don't kill R- _them_!" Ruby took a step forward, shifted Crescent Rose to its ranged mode and leveled it at the Huntress. The woman and Ebon glanced at the younger girl in shock as a jet of fire were spat from the Bullhead's interior.

As the Huntress deflected the fire with a flash of an aura shield and then leaped aside as the piece of roof she was standing on exploded outward in a scream of power. Ruby saw a shadowy figure standing in the open hatch of the airship, a figure whose clothing _burned_ with patterns like creeping vines and whose right eye was lit as if by an eldritch fire straight from the pits of the Hells.

Her mouth fell open and the young criminal could have _sworn_ she saw that scorching eye flickered down to hers and drop in a lazy wink. Even through her shock, Ruby felt her teeth grind together.

 _What is SHE doing here?! When did Cinder decide to be helpful?!_

Ruby felt her head throb with the events of the evening as the Huntress swished her riding crop and formed the debris of the destroyed roof into an aura-fueled spear which she proceeded to send straight at the Bullhead.

Cinder took out the spear with three separate blasts of what Ruby once dubbed her "Scary Death Powers".

The Huntress, not to be outdone, reformed the spear and sent it on its way again. This time, Roman, who Ruby assumed to be piloting now, simply tilted the Bullhead so that the spear broke against the thicker metal of the Bullhead's roof.

The Huntress formed the broken spear into _three_ separate spears and was about to pincushion the Bullhead and all those inside of it when Cinder unleashed a massive wave of power, atomizing the spears.

This prompted Ebon, who had until just been watching the fight alongside Ruby, to shift her nodachi into a metallic longbow and began to loose arrows at the airship

 _Ah, so it's a Long-Ranged Nodachi!_ Pleased that she learned the identity of the minor huntress's weapon, Ruby unleashed her own volley of shots. Aiming specifically for Cinder's head. After all, how could she resist trying to take out her crazed boss when she knew could get away with it?

Cinder incinerated the arrows in a blast of bone-melting fire and blocked each of Ruby's bullets with the palm of her hand. The fact that Ruby tried to shot her at _all_ may have poured gasoline on her already hot temper as when all projectiles stopped coming, Cinder waved her arm across her chest and the roof beneath her three attackers glowed like some demon's iris.

 _Oh, cra-_ Ruby's thought went unfinished as the Huntress swished her riding crop once again and Ebon and Ruby went flying, though thankfully not at the Bullhead. Landing with a thud, Ruby was aware of the Huntress landing lightly beside her and the hatch of the Bullhead closing with a whir of gears,

Rising to her feet, she saw the Bullhead launch away from the rooftop and leave Huntress, huntress-in-training, and hitman who was supposed to masquerade as a huntress-in-training alone together.

"You're a Huntress!" Ruby heard Ebon say slowly and in a voice full of hero-worshipping awe. "Oh my-can I have your autograph? Wait, is that weird?"

The hitman snorted and looked out at the horizon where the Bullhead had disappeared, a concerned look in her silver eyes.

 _Gods, I hope Ro's okay._

* * *

 _Gods, I hope I'll be okay!_

Ruby squirmed uncomfortably in a bare room at a metal table where the only illumination came from the light directly overhead and the Scroll of the Huntress who circled her like a blonde shark.

"I hope you realized that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young lady!" The Huntress's tone was stern and left no room for argument. "You put yourself and others into grave danger."

Resisting the urge to stand and shout "Lady, I kill people!", Ruby went for the defense that would not end with her in handcuffs. "They started it! I was just minding my own business when, all of a sudden, there were bullets and Dust and _crime lords_ flying everywhere! It was a _nightmare_!"

Her defense went ignored, however, and the Huntress continued on her criticism of Ruby's existence.

"If it was up to me, you'd be sent home with a pat on the back and a _slap_ on the wrist." With that, the riding crop suddenly appeared in its master's hand and was slammed down next to Ruby's fingers.

"Gah! Hey!"

"But…" The Huntress sounded as if she regretted what she had to say next. "there is someone here who wants to see you."

Ruby did not like the sound of that. _Oh Gods, I hope it isn't that crooked cop! He still holds a grudge from that one time I kicked him in the groin!_

Out of the shadows stepped a tall man with silver hair, bearing a coffee mug in one hand and a platter of cookies in another. Ruby narrowed her eyes. _These people ARE GOOD! No! Bad Ruby! Resist!_

"Good evening." The man stepped up to the table before leaning close to said girl and narrowing his eyes. "You…have silver eyes."

"And you have brown eyes." Ruby looked at the man with a curious expression. "Have trouble with starting conversations? I can relate."

The Huntress stiffened, but the man just chuckled. "I suppose that wasn't the most artful greeting, but it piqued my interest. It _is_ a rather rare eye color, after all."

Ruby shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." _Just wait till you met Neo, my eye-obsessed friend._

Smiling faintly, the man gestured to the Huntress behind him, a large Scroll in her hands. On the Scroll played a recording of her fight at "Till Dust Till Dawn".

"So, where did you learn to do this?" The man said, referring to her easy victory against the armed thugs. Ruby, who was watching her fight with rapt attention and wondering how the security cameras managed to get all the meaningful angles and close-ups, blinked several times before answering.

"Um, at home, my dad taught me." _That_ was safe territory and her answer was true, so a win-win for everyone!

The man raised a single eyebrow. "Your _father_ taught you how to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?"

Ruby felt pride warm her chest at that comment. "Yep! Well, my best friend helped _a lot_ too." _Yeah, Neo definitely isn't my sister figure. Sisters don't use each other as bait and then clean their nails while you're fighting off Atlassian mobsters._ Ruby suppressed a shudder at the memory of that northern incursion. It took forever to get the smell of blood and gunpowder out of her cloak after the clash.

"I see." The man said thoughtfully before placing the platter of cookies on the table in front of Ruby. Ruby lifted on, sniffed it, then proceeded to see how many she could fit in her mouth at one time. The man continued speaking.

"It's just that I've only seen one other scythe-wielder of that skill before. A dusty, old crow." The man smiled fondly, as if recalling memories. Ruby paused in her in her cookie massacre before shrugging. So, maybe there were contenders for her crown of Ultimate Scythe-Wielder Supreme. Let them come, she was ready. But until then, there were cookies in need of eating.

"Anyways, I'm afraid I do not have the pleasure of knowing your name."

"Oh," Ruby decided it might as well be her real one, it wasn't as if she would be instantly criminalized if she did. "It's Ruby. Ruby Rose."

"Ruby Rose." The man sipped his coffee and set the mug on the table. "I am curious as to why an adorable little girl such as yourself is training to become a warrior?"

 _I may be adorable, but I will silt your throat with a spoon given half the chance. Don't test me, old man._ Ruby looked at the man for a moment, letting that thought pass out of head before deciding to go with the most obvious answer. "Well, I want to be a Huntress."

"You want to slay monsters?" The man pulled up a chair and sat across from Ruby, placing his fingertips together contemplatively. Ruby nodded.

"Yeah. In two years, I'll be old enough to attend Beacon. I honestly can't wait! You see, my best friend, the one who helped me train, is staring there this year and she is trying to become a Huntress." _In a manner, but that doesn't matter. Keep talking, Ruby!_ "And _I'm_ trying to become a Beacon 'cause I want to help people. My dad has always said they needed all the help they could get, so I thought I'll make a career out of it."

Ruby shrugged a little carelessly. "I mean, the police are alright, but Huntsman and Huntresses? _That's_ where the adventure is and the romance and is just… _Hunters_! You know?" _Please tell me you know, because I'm winging this entire thing._

The room was bathed in silence as the two adults stared blankly at her. Then the man smiled. "Do you know who I am?"

Ruby frowned and looked closely at the man. Criminal? No, stupid answer. Silver eye enthusiast? Yes, but that's probably not the answer he was looking for. Huntsman? Obviously, but w-Oh. My. Gods.

Ruby swallowed. "You're Professor Ozpin. You're the headmaster at Beacon Academy." _Also, according to that file I read over Roman's shoulder, one of the most powerful Hunters on Remnant._

Ozpin chuckled. "Hello."

"Nice to meet you." _Please don't kill me._

Ozpin drummed his fingers on the table. "You want to come to my school?"

Her breath hitched in her throat, surely it could not be this _easy_! "Y-yes! More than anything!"

At that, Ozpin smile widened and he glanced at the Huntress at his side. She harrumphed, but made no other comment. Ozpin turned back to Ruby. "Well, okay."

Ruby, for the first time since she entered this room, smiled.

 _I am a genius!_

xXx

"Neo? HI, can you come get me? I don't really have any idea how to get home." Ruby scuffed the pavement outside the Third Precinct Police Station, as the large sign outside proudly proclaimed. The girl who was on the other end of the Scroll video call huffed dramatically.

" _Practically the daughter of Roman Torchwick and you're lost in the city we own? And in front of a multitude of cops, no less?"_ The enforcer shook her head as if ashamed. _"That's just pitiful!"_

"Hey! I just got into Beacon two years early on my awesomeness alone!" Ruby grinned broadly as Neo nearly fell over at the news, her face the perfect picture of shock.

" _You did WHAT now?"_

Ruby laughed. "I'll tell you everything once I get home. Speaking of which…" Ruby looked all around her and then held the Scroll closer to her face, a pleading tone entering her voice. "Neo, please, It's cold and dark and I'm covered in Dust residue."

Neo nodded, the usual sting in her eyes being replaced by a gentler, subtler emotion. _"I'm on my way, don't worry."_

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Neo. I'll see you soon."

" _See you soon, Rubies."_ The call cut out and Ruby went to sit down on a street bench. Leaning back, Ruby looked up at the light-bleached sky and let the events of the day wash over her. Fighting Roman, fighting _Cinder_ if only for a little bit, getting accepted into Beacon because of…what _was_ the reason Ozpin let her into Beacon two years early? Because she was good with a scythe? Maybe, but doubtful. She would need to keep an eye out, just to be on the safe side.

She exhaled the worry out into the crisp air and let the full weight of what just happened settle upon her. _I guess I'm going to Beacon. Oughta be fun, right?_

* * *

" _Okay, go over it with me again."_

"Neo, we've done this five times already." Ruby sat with her head in her hands as prospering students chatted around her excitingly as the air ferry slowly filled with more hunters-in-training than Ruby has ever seen in her entire life. _So many amazing weapons! And I'm stuck here doing this!_

Neo, however, was either unaware of her friend's plight or deemed what she had in plan more important. _"And now we're doing it again. Now, come on and tell me who you are."_

Ruby sighed. There was no way out of this, apparently. "I'm from a tiny hamlet in the east of Sanus, I was raised by a single father, my mother died in a Grimm attack when I was a baby, this made me want to train as a warrior and become a Huntress. Bit of a stereotypical backstory if you ask me."

" _That's why no one will put too much effort into if it's true or not, EVERYONE has a story like that. Now, who am I?"_

"A gigantic pain in the neck?" Ruby did not even flinch at Neo's patented smack bounced off the side of her head. "No? Alright, you are the hamlet's official rebellious orphan, you lost both of your parents in the same attack that killed my fictional mother, my dad took you in and we have been together since then. Wait, what ages did we decide on when that happened?"

" _I was six, you were four. We're trying to keep it as close as to reality as we can."_ Neo supplied, glancing off to the side as if tracking someone who had caught her interest. _"But other than forgetting the ages, everything was spot on. Well-done, I guess this means we won't go for seven times."_

Ruby sighed in relief. Roman had seen them off with good-byes and words of warning and the offer of:

"If any boys should bother you-Neo, don't roll your eyes at me-be sure to call me and I'll chuck their bodies in the harbor."

But ever since then, Neo has drilled Ruby on their fake backstory until the older girl was content that Ruby remembered everything important. Satisfied that they would not be ousted as criminals and imprisoned the moment someone asks where they're from, Neo took out her Scroll and pulled up the files Roman had on their new teammates.

" _Let's see. The Syndicate member dad is sending is a professional burglar named Skyler Snow. Dad thinks that name is fake as the entirety of Snow's childhood does not exist on any documents whatsoever, all we know is that he's human and comes from the north, everything else Snow doesn't seem to talk about it in any-RUBY! STOP DROOLING! IT'S A FIRE STAFF, NOT A GIANT COOKIE!"_

"But it is as nearly as good!" She couldn't help the small squeal that rang in her voice. "Just look at them all! So many awesome weapons in one place! Oh, I take it _all_ back! This is awesome, remind me to hug Cinder when we get back."

" _I rather you just hug something nice like a rotting corpse or a Grimm."_ Neo repressed a shudder at the mere _idea_ of hugging Cinder Fall. _Anyways, pay attention, this is important."_

Ruby waved lazily as she leaned back in her seat. "I was listening. Skyler Snow, tragic backstory, doesn't like to talk about it. Him and five billion other people. What about this freelancer that Roman called in?"

Neo flicked something a file onto her screen, a _long_ file. _"Oh, wow, someone obviously doesn't care about omitting the details. Well, Ruby, our freelancing friend is an assassin by the name of Crimson Shard. A human who grew up in some dirt-poor distract in Mantle that had more plague-infested cockroaches than people, a place called the Shards."_ Neo blinked at that before narrowing her eyes.

" _Wait, he took his last name after his place of birth? THAT'S uncreative. Sheesh, his home life was extremely abusive until he-Sweet Dust-until he gored his own father's eyes out with a fork and ran off to be one with the street rats."_

Neo took her eyes off the file and looked at Ruby. _"Rubies, if our criminal friends get caught, I don't feel obliged to go and rescue them. Mostly because Crimson Shard from the Shards here is a walking bucket of violent crazy and Skyler Snow of the Dark Past is probably the human personification of angst."_

"Did she just call me a _bucket_?"

"Oh, like none of you have things that you rather not _blab_ to the first crime lord that comes your way!"

Ruby whirled her head around to see two boys, standing in front of her, both with their arms crossed and identical offended looks on their faces. The similarity might have Ruby chuckle if not for the fact that the two people before her were like two sides of a coin of fashion. Plus, one was average height while the other was so tall that Ruby's head came up to only his sternum

The short one who was glaring at Neo was impeccably dressed in a three-piece suit whose wintry grey fabric complemented his ochre complexion to the point where Ruby could forgive the fact that he was also wearing a fedora.

 _At least it's not a trilby._ She thought with some relief.

Almost like he could hear her judgment of his hat, the boy's ice-white eyes narrowed. Hands clad in leather dress gloves twitching towards the gold watch chain that hung in a loop across the fabric of his vest. But his hands did not quite make it as the _tall_ boy snorted and shoved him out of his way, causing the young man in the well-tailored suit to go sprawling to the ground.

Walking past Ruby, the tall boy fell into her old seat, his trench coat covering the hard plastic. The youth offered Ruby a smile, his vibrant crimson hair, molded into a flaring deathhawk, matched his vivacious eyes which gleamed out of a bone-pale face. Whether the eyes shone with mischief or madness, she wasn't sure.

"Crimson Shard, currently a huntsman-in-training and walking, talking bucket of violence and insanity as our short friend here so poetically put it." He turned his grin on Neo who greeted him with her middle finger. Crimson's grin widened, the rings of metal pierced through his lips shining in the sunlight of the ferry's windows. "Now _that's_ not very nice."

"So, if you're Crimson Shard." Ruby turned back to the other boy who had risen back to his and was brushing off his suit, muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'And no one would ever find the bodies'. "You must be Skyler Snow."

"At your service. I take it that you two are Ms. Rose and Ms. Neopolitan?" Still looking affronted, but no longer mumbling darkly, Skyler sketched his head in a small bow. Neo and Crimson snorted at the same time before glaring at each other as if their surprised synchronization was the other one's fault.

"Yep. Your transcripts good?" With Skyler's affirmative nod, Ruby felt the weight of her assignment settle into her. It was terrifying and one wrong move could send them all to prison or the gallows, but her team was here, they were all going to Beacon, and it was too late to fake her death now. It was time to learn how to kill the Creatures of Grimm and spy on Hunters.

The ferry rumbled and the group felt it began to ascend into the sky, the faint noise of Dust-powered engines a hum in the background. Ruby exhaled. _Here we go._

She looked over the team assembled before her. One tri-colored enforcer with a sadistic streak. One thief who took insult to his suit as means for justifiable homicide. One assassin who looked like he belonged in a deathmetal band instead of killing people for lien.

 _Oh, yeah. And one fifteen-year-old hitman. Can't forget about me._ Ruby placed her fists on her hips and nodded. _Yep, this was a plan of a madwoman. The worse thing about this is that if we don't succeed, Cinder will turn our lungs into charcoal._

"I think I'll call you Snowball."

"Call me that again, Shard, and I'll cut off your legs and _beat_ you to death with them."

"Oh, aren't you just a _treat_!"

Neo looked at Ruby as the thief and assassin continued to exchange insults and threats of murder. _"Yeah, we're screwed."_

Ruby rolled her eyes, inwardly criticizing the defeatist attitude of her team. "Okay! You two, hush. Neo, lighten up. And all of you, we have a mission to find out all we can about Beacon so let's stop standing in the corner like a bunch of antisocial hermits and go make connections with the rest of the student body, got it?"

"Don't you mean _friends_?" Skyler looked at Ruby thoughtfully while Neo and Crimson just stared back at her, impressed at her seizing command and throttling it. The self-proclaimed leader shrugged.

"Well, I mean, if you are _able_ to make _actual_ friends, go for it."

"Was that a challenge? That sounded like a challenge. Snowball, we have been challenged to put our glaring social disabilities aside and to go make friends, let's go." Crimson stood up, threw his trench coat behind him dramatically, and proceeded to drag the flailing Skyler off into the crowd. Before the chatter of the ferry swallowed his voice, Ruby could hear his flustered demands that Crimson let go of him this instant or risk losing his hands.

Neo stepped up beside Ruby. " _So, those are our teammates. They're…different?"_

"I say we give them a chance, who knows? Maybe they're great!" Ruby did not even have to look at Neo to know that she was rolling her eyes. "Anyways, let's go make connections!"

" _You have the social grace of a hungry shark; I hope you realize that."_

"Every time I try to talk to a person, now, let's go." Ruby hooked her arm through Neo's and half-dragged her into the crowd. Her eyes flickering from one student to another, Ruby tried to pick the rich ones out from the poor and the middle-class, trying to find the students that could have more influence at Beacon. _Plus, it's always nice to have rich friends._

As the four criminals moved among the hopefuls of Beacon Academy, none of them noticed two huntresses-in-training standing off to the side, talking amongst themselves.

"Ebon, for the _last_ time, things are not going to be boring at Beacon. It's a _Hunter_ Academy, we are being trained to slay literal monsters."

Ebon Winters, part of the world's next generation of heroes, stuck out her tongue. "I know that, I'm talking about the grievous amount of homework we will undoubtedly be given, Yang."

Yang Xiao Long, _slightly_ more mature part of the world's next generation of heroes, leaned back against the ferry's walls, a slight smile on her face as she looked at her friend.

"Well, what did you expect? Shadowy plots, enigmatic villains, and long lost relatives? It's a school, Ebonbob, not an action novel."

While Ebon mumbled something about how all those, plus a few fights to the deaths, should be at Beacon. Yang let her thoughts turn to the simple _joy_ of what was happening.

 _I'm going to Beacon! Finally, things are coming together and I'm not going to let anything tear it apart!_

* * *

 **And done! What did you think? Anyways, thank you all so much for reading this story and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **Next update is 1/11/2019**


	4. Clueless at Beacon Academy

**Welcome to the fourth chapter of Bloodbound! Enjoy!**

* * *

" _That is the most single, unflattering picture of Roman I have ever seen in my entire life and I was there for your eighth birthday party."_

"That's because it's a mugshot." Ruby rolled her eyes as Neo glared at the holoscreen of the ferry. "They're not supposed to be flattering. And that party was great! What are you talking about?"

" _Dust is not a cake ingredient, Ruby!"_

"Oh… _that_." Ruby rubbed her head sheepishly as she looked out the crowd of other Beacon students in hopes of finding a new subject to breach, away from the memory of exploding cakes and crime lord-shaped holes in the ceiling. Thankfully, the news report detailing the robbery of one Roman Torchwick, and something about the White Fang being fanatical jerks, was replaced by the image of the same Huntress that Ruby encountered the other night. And conversation tuned silent as the introduction to the hopefuls crowded on the air-ferry sounded in its metal halls.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a _privileged_ few who have received the _honor_ of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is _your_ duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now, it is _our_ turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." And with that final promise, the image of Glynda Goodwitch faded back into the floor.

"No wonder Hunters always end up as such arrogant pricks." An amused voice sounded from beside them. Turning to the sound, Neo having to lean forward to see around Ruby, they were met with the grinning visage of Crimson Shard, their fellow teammate and private assassin. He gestured to where the image of Goodwitch had been moments before.

"Seriously, with a greeting like _that_ , my head would probably inflate too." Crimson suddenly perked up, as if remembering something. "Oh, by the way, Snowball decided to Hells with your order about making friends and escaped somewhere over there." He gestured vaguely at the far end of the Bullhead. "Not sure where, he threatened to cut off my nose if I followed him."

"Fascinating, glad to see _he's_ being friendly." Ruby rolled her eyes before leveling them at her teammate. "And Hunters _always_ end up as arrogant pricks? That's a bit harsh, don't you think?"

Crimson snorted, shaking his head negatively. "Nope. In my experience, if Hunters aren't arrogant, they're aggressors; if they aren't aggressors, they're corrupt; if they aren't corrupt, they're just so damn _stupid._ " He actually pinched the bridge of his nose together at that. "Sometimes, I think it's a wonder the Grimm haven't eaten us all yet."

Neo snapped her fingers and pointed at Crimson. _"That! That right there! Shard, maybe I won't hate you without reason after all."_

A grin began to creep its way back up his face. "Come on, senseless hatred is so _much_ more entertaining than run-of-the-mill loathing. Sure you can't find some inner rage to direct at me?"

Neo raised an eyebrow. _What makes you think I even have inner rage or whatever?"_

"Because you're short and short people always have inner rage, usually stemming from said shortness. Come on now, it's a known fact." Crimson's grin exploded into a wide smile as Neo sputtered with fury. "Oh, look! Now you have _outer_ rage too!"

" _Screw it, Shard, I'm hating you because you're an ass-"_

" _Not_ in front of the innocent students, Neo." Ruby patted her glaring friend on the shoulder. "I'm sure you can kill him later."

Crimson laughed while Neo fumed and Ruby wondered, not for the last time, if this is what she will have to put up with for the next four years. _I sure hope not, my mental stability is ALREADY questionable as it is._

Further thought about _that_ was delayed as the engines changed in their hum and the ferry began to lose altitude, the sunlight drifted across the windows.

"It would appear that we have arrived at the _prestigious_ Beacon Academy." Crimson stood up straighter, Neo bristling as his elbow went on par with her forehead, and saluted Ruby. "Commander Rose, your orders?"

"Shut up and follow me." She and Neo joined the students as they all walked excitedly towards the opening ferry doors. Crimson sniggered as he matched his stride beside his teammates.

"Of course, undisputable and impolite leader."

"I thought I said to shut up?"

* * *

"You know," Ruby looked up in awe at the academy she was supposed to be infiltrating. "I would have been much more excited about coming here if I knew it was a _freaking castle_!"

"Meh, I don't see much in the way of battlements." Crimson viewed the school with a critical eye. "I'm giving it an eight out of ten. Maybe a nine because of the towers."

"Hey! This is a _solid_ ten, no question about it." Ruby crossed her arms and frowned at Crimson, then at Neo, and then turned in a full circle, the frown still in place. "Okay, where on Remnant is Skyler?"

Neo shrugged. _"Maybe he hasn't gotten off the ferry yet."_

Crimson joined his impolite leader in surveying the crowd of students. "Maybe he got lost."

" _Maybe he fell off the cliff."_

"Maybe he's dead."

"Maybe he is just avoiding his teammates because they are all morbid and crazy," Skyler suggested as he emerged from the crowd to stand beside Ruby. "Except for you, Ms. Rose, I appreciate your concern over my whereabouts."

"I just needed to make sure you didn't bail." Ruby shrugged. "And don't call me 'Ms. Rose'. Ruby is fine."

"We could call her 'Red Leader'." Crimson offered as the group began to go with the flow of students towards Beacon. "Maybe even 'Supreme Leader'!"

"Call me _any_ of those and I'll sic Neo on you," Ruby replied without looking. "And something tells me she will be _more_ than happy to oblige me."

Neo locked eyes with Crimson and drew her finger slowly across her throat. He retorted with showing her his middle finger.

Both Skyler and Ruby ignored them.

"So, how do you want to go about this?" Skyler looked at Ruby. "The plan to infiltrate Beacon?"

"My plan is to not be stupid and gather as much information as we can about this place while not getting caught." Ruby frowned suddenly, remember the other command that Cinder sent them along with. "We also need to complete any _assignments_ the client gives us."

"That sounds ominous." Crimson poked his head between them. "You know; I have never seen the new boss of the Torchwick Syndicate-"

"She's not the boss." Ruby interrupted, shooting Crimson a glare.

"Oookay," He tried again. "I have not seen the person sponsoring this little trip of-"

" _She doesn't pay us squat, she just threatens our lives."_ Neo had a glare of her own she corrected Crimson. He rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I haven't seen this-"

"No one has." Skyler had a dark look on his face. "Mr. Torchwick does not allow any others besides Ruby and Ms. Neopolitan to accompany him when meeting Cinder Fall."

Crimson was silent for a moment. "Okay, the only thing I learned from this conversation is that the client or sorta-boss or _whatever_ is named Cinder Fall and no one seems to like her. Which is kinda rude, in my opinion, she could be a lovely person once you got to know her."

"We're not being rude; she _is_ a _horrible_ excuse for a human being." Ruby growled while Neo, agreeingly, and Skyler, loyally, nodded. But Crimson just scoffed.

"You people just interrupted me _three_ times and two out of those three were just to insult Fall. So yeah, I feel like you _might_ be biased against her." He stood up straight, Neo once again frowning at the height difference, and crossed his arms across his chest. "I think Cinder Fall is actually a very nice person."

" _Think it all you want, but don't ever say it to my face."_ Neo pointed the tip of Deadly Elegance at Crimson's chin. _"This is you're only warning."_

"Yeah, yeah, no mentioning your arch-nemesis." Crimson placed a finger on the parasol and moved it away from his face. "Really, if you hate Fall _that_ much, it's remarkable you haven't tried to kill her yet."

" _She's scary and powerful. If I tried to kill her, I might lose my arms."_

"Just your arms?"

Ruby tuned out the sounds of Neo explaining to Crimson how she would finish the job with her teeth while Fall was busy gloating and settled on sorting through her _own_ thoughts.

 _We're at Beacon, no one has tried to kill us yet, we haven't been exposed yet, and we have not gotten any illegal assignments…yet. Wow, I really need to stop adding on the yets, really negative thinking you got going on here, Ruby._ Shaking her head, she tried to focus on the more pleasant and mundane things that were happening around her.

 _Sun is shining, birds are singing, nothing is exploding, and nothing unexpected is happening at all!_

And with _that_ sentence, with those words full of doom and fate, Ruby Rose set into motion a series of events spanning the world and all of its hidden places. Events that contained wonder and misery, life and death, magic and Gods.

So wrapped up with her thoughts about how _everything_ was _fine_ , Ruby did not notice the person in front of her till it was too late to avoid ramming into her back, sending both of them sprawling to the ground.

"Gah! What the Hells?!" The stranger Ruby toppled over exclaimed as she hit the cobblestones, a dull thud sounding at their impact.

"Ruby! Are you okay?" Skyler reached down, Neo right beside him, and helped pull their unofficial leader off the other person. Crimson watched the entire scenario from the background, eyes curious as he picked out another student hurrying towards them. More specifically, running towards the fallen form of the person Ruby had barreled into, whose face was hidden by a shocking mane of golden hair.

"Yang, what happened?" The new student asked as she came to a stop beside them, her black eyes confused but not worried, as if this girl knew that it would take more than a fall to hurt her friend. "Why are you still on the ground?"

"I think I busted my lip." The girl on the ground, Yang, said in a voice muffled by stone. Her friend rolled her eyes.

"Oh no. That'll take at _least_ five seconds to heal. You have aura, Yang, minor injuries kinda lose all consequence when that's a thing."

"Yeah, yeah, shut up." She pushed herself off the ground and turned to the undercover criminals. Despite the fact that Ruby had turned as red as her namesake implied and was currently hiding her face in the recesses of her hood, the girl she knocked over seemed to not mind.

"Hey, it's fine. It takes more than a little fall to get on my bad side." She offered her hand with a grin. "Yang Xiao Long, this is my friend Ebon Winters."

The girl with black eyes offered a two-fingered wave. "Yo."

With Ruby still indisposed by embarrassment, Crimson decided to take over matters and take the offered hand.

"Crimson Shard. My friends here are Skyler Snow, Neopolitan-prefers to be called Neo-, and the self-conscious wonder here is Ruby Rose." He pointed each of them out in turn. Skyler waved, Neo nodded, and Ruby just blushed harder and tried to pull her head deeper into her hood.

Ebon frowned. "Ruby Rose? Hey, aren't you the girl from the Dust shop from the other night?"

Ruby peaked out of her hood, the girl's words snatching her interest. "Are you the one who picked a fight with Roman Torchwick?"

"I'm pretty sure we _both_ picked that fight, but yep." Ebon patted the hilt of the giant nodachi that rose above her shoulder. "I thought I did alright regardless."

 _You were thrown out a window and then outran, but okay._ Ruby flipped her hood back, only to let the sunlight to shine upon her bi-colored hair, reflect off her silver eyes, and a shocked gasp to reach her ears.

Standing there as if the world had just crashed down around her head, was Yang Xiao Long. Her eyes a potent mix of disbelief, amazement, and joy so profound that Ruby felt it seize upon her heart even if the actions of this stranger were putting her on edge. Yang took a staggering step forward, her hands slightly outstretched.

"Ruby?" Her voice was choked with emotion, her eyes thick with it. It was because of the sheer amount of hope that nearly lit the air that Ruby did not take a step away from this stranger and whatever connection she thought she had with her.

"Yes, why? Do I know you?" Ruby moved her hands closer to the sling where Crescent Rose rested, an action that did escape the notice of her fellow infiltrators. Neo rested her parasol on her shoulders as Skyler pulled out his pocket watch as if to check the time (Though his eyes remained on the two huntresses-in-training before him even as he popped the watch open). Crimson just stretched, a part of his trench coat falling away to reveal twin metal handles shot through with crimson poking out of sheathes on his back. All of them were ready to fight and kill at a moment's notice.

Yang and Ebon, however, were too focused on the one person before them to even realize the existence of the others. Ruby's question had seemed to shatter something inside of Yang and her face crumbled like some ancient ruin.

"I-maybe." Yang looked at the ground, blinking rapidly. "It's just my sister…looked a lot like you. I'm sorry, you're obviously not her."

"Hey, it's okay." Ruby moved her hands out away from her scythe and made an awkward gesture. "It could happen to, you know, anyone."

"Yeah," Yang smiled, a fragile thing that looked like it was holding back raw emotion. "I guess it could."

The silence that followed made the word _uncomfortable_ look weak.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around." Ruby waved before practically _fleeing_ the scene, the rest of her teammates close behind her. Yang Xiao Long and Ebon Winters stared after them for a long moment.

"Are you going to be okay?" Ebon asked, moving closer to her friend. Yang let out a shuddering breath.

"Yeah, I-I think so." She closed her lilac eyes to hide the gems of tears welling up there. "It's just…I thought I had gotten past it, Ruby's death and _everything_ it caused." She chuckled, a sound void of humor and full of bitter pain. "It looks like I was wrong."

Ebon pulled her into a hug almost instantly, holding the blonde warrior close. "Yang…"

"I'm okay, Ebon, I'll be okay." Yang took a deep breath and smiled, a smile still painful at the edges, but with true emotion showing behind it. She nodded at the retreating forms of the four 'students'. "I just hope that our next meeting with them goes a _little_ bit better."

Ebon snorted. "After _that_ fiasco? Things can _only_ be uphill from here on."

* * *

"Well, that was awkward and weird," Crimson stated as the four infiltrators of Beacon stood in the crowed Entry Hall, the rest of the new student body standing all around them. "Let's avoid those two from here on out, yeah?"

"I second that."

" _Agreed."_

Neo and Skyler shared the same pain from the second-hand embarrassment the earlier meeting seemed to _ooze_ in excess. Ruby, however, frowned at their words but stayed silent.

 _It was like Xiao Long saw a ghost instead of me. And she said something about her sister that was basically drenched in past tense. Definitely something bad happened in her past. But what?_

"Red Leader? Helloooo, Remnant to our glorious leader."

Ruby snapped out of her thoughts at the sight of amused red eyes hairbreadths from her own. She reacted accordingly.

"Gah!" The sound of her strangled scream muffled the fleshy thud of her fist connecting with Crimson's nose. His head was thrown back and he stumbled away from Ruby.

"Okay, rude!" Crimson looked back down at the cloaked hitman and rubbed his nose, an affronted look on his face. "I was just trying to get your attention and you _slug_ me?!"

"Don't get that close to me then, ya creep!" Ruby crossed her arms and tried to calm the rapid beating of her heart. "I am totally the victim here."

"As the one punched in the face, I think the right of victimhood should go to me!"

"Leader gets victimhood, lackey shuts up. That's an order." Ruby crossed her arms. "If you don't like it, you shouldn't have made me the leader."

Crimson looked at Ruby, then at Neo and Skyler who took up places on either side of her like bodyguards and sighed despairingly.

 _Damn Syndicate members._ He flipped them all off.

Neo only had time to respond with her own bird before the whine of a microphone permeated the hall, causing a hush to fall upon the students. All of them looking to the front of the large room.

"I'll...keep this brief." Standing on a stage, high over the heads of the new students, Professor Ozpin greeted them with his welcoming speech. Skyler idly wished he could take notes; this could be important. However, the headmaster of Beacon continued before Skyler could even ask for a pen.

"All of you have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." Brown eyes scanned the crowd before them and grew hard. "But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose and direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to _you_ to take the first step."

And with that, the professor walked off the stage and disappeared behind the curtain. His assistant, who Ruby recognized as the Huntress from the rooftop, Glynda Goodwitch, took his place addressing the students.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight, Tomorrow morning, your initiation begins. Be _ready_."

As the other students began to exit the hall, Skyler stopped being aware of Crimson's grumpiness, Ruby's smugness, or Neo who had begun to mock Crimson in earnest. He stopped being aware of the rolling din of voices from the rest of the hunters-in-training. In fact, Skyler stopped being aware of the fact that he was even alive. He just stood as still as a cold marble statue while his mind _boiled_ with vindictiveness.

 _Did that cane-wielding son of a Vacuoian whore just call MY LIFE WASTED ENERGY?!_

* * *

The large ballroom of Beacon was filled with new students and buzzed with the sounds of many voices. Sleeping bags and pallets lead out in rows covered the floor and students chatted over and around the temporary beddings.

"For the last time, Snowball, get over it. It wasn't even _that_ personal."

And in the case of the criminals masquerading as the righteous, trying to convince their resident thief to stop glaring at the floor and sit down ("Because for the Gods' sake, you're making me tired just by looking at you!"). And failing horribly.

"He called my _life_ wasted energy! I've worked hard not to _die_ ; do you have any idea how arduous it was to get me where I am _now_?!" _Granted, nothing I ever did was exactly legal or moral, but I can't very well bring that up in a crowded ballroom._

Crimson groaned in defeat and fell backward on the piece of the floor he claimed as his own for the night. Rubbing his head over his eyes, he muttered under his breath. "I wish Neo or Ruby was here, if _they_ told you to stop being moody, you would listen to them."

"And I wish you would take a shower tonight!" Skyler snapped before rolling his eyes. "And I can't just snap my fingers and decide to stop feeling emotions, that's impossible and-"

" _Snow, stop being grumpy or I'll hit you."_ Neo, her hair still wet from the showers, sit down with a huff. _"I've had enough with people feeling emotion for today, so don't you even start."_

Skyler, whose moodiness was indeed gone, replaced by burning curiosity, shared a look with Crimson. The tall criminal sat up, his eyes on the shortest criminal.

"Something happen in the showers that we should know about?" His leaned back, his hands propping himself up. "Was someone not keeping their hands to themselves? I can kill them if you got the money."

"Can you _not_ pick up new clients while we are at Beacon?" Skyler gestured at the ballroom with a lazy hand. "Especially not when we're surrounded by people of a more law-abiding nature?"

" _Shut up, the both of you."_ Neo rubbed her forehead, her eyes screwed closed. _"I've had enough with LOUD people too. Ruby should be here soon…if she ever stops talking with that girl. Who even carries on a conversation while taking a shower?!"_

"Um-" Neither Crimson nor Skyler had a chance to respond before Neo stalked to her feet and started pacing in a vicious circle, her hands articulating each word with a sharp gesture.

" _I mean, the girl was so bubbly, I'm surprised that there weren't soap suds overflowing her shower stall! And Ruby was in the one next to her, then the bubbly girl started singing a song about pancakes-don't know what the Hells THAT was about-and after a minute, Ruby joined her! And after the song, they started talking-the fact that they were supposed to be bathing be damned-and they WOULDN'T stop! I got done showering and they were still talking! What the Hells?!"_

With a sound like a groan, Neo fell back on her pink sleeping bag. Crimson and Skyler watching her in bewilderment.

"I'm…going to go take a quick shower now. Or maybe it will be a long one, who knows." Skyler picked his fine leather bag on the ground, received from the student baggage claim, and inched towards the bathrooms. "Ms. N-Uh, _Crimson_ , save me a spot on the floor."

And with that command, he was gone in a flash of grey suit and an obvious desire to get as far away from the current situation as he possibly could. Leaving Crimson with a fuming Neopolitan.

 _Oh, damn THAT Syndicate member in particular!_

Taking a deep breath, he looked over at the small, angry, person that was currently spread-eagle over her sleeping bag. The glare on her face threatening to burn a hole in the high ceiling.

"So, is this your first time with jealousy? I mean, you pretty much had Ruby to yourself for the past, what, eleven years? I can kinda understand why you are reacting this strongly. Still, it's weird that you never made your move for _that_ long."

Neo shot up straight and turned to Crimson with a shocked expression, her wide eyes staring in disbelief at the assassin. He lifted his eyebrows in return.

"What?" He said mildly. "One only needs to catch all the looks you give her and the rests of the dots are easy to connect. Don't worry, I'm cool with it and I won't tell Ruby, but _sheesh_ , calm down! Ruby _talking_ to another girl is _not_ the end of the world."

Neo's mouth, even though she had not used it to speak in years, tried to form the shapes of coherent words. Her eyes filling with a mix of emotions. Struggling to take back control, she took a deep breath and locked eyes with the figure across from her.

" _Ruby was HARMONIZING with her! Badly, granted, but still harmonizing!"_

Crimson threw up his arms. " _Oh_ , come on! It's not like Ruby and pancake girl are going to be _waltzing_ out of the shower arm-in-arm! They were just sing-oh, would you look at that."

Slowly, Neo turned her head to face the archway that led to the spacious Beacon bathrooms to see Ruby and a ginger girl walking out, _arm-in-arm_ , giggling insanely at something that she was not privy to.

That _bothered_ her to no end. She turned back to Crimson, a twitch starting in her right eye, and _stared_ at him. Trying to covey as much murderous desire as she possibly could.

He grinned, a little too happily for Neo's liking. "Obviously…I was wrong. On the bright side, even _you_ won't hurt me in front of dozens of witnesses."

Before Neo had a chance to hurt Crimson in front of dozens of witnesses, Ruby plopped down on her own black sleeping bag, the wide grin still in place. The ginger girl right beside her. Both were clad in pajamas.

Neo's veins visibly bulged out of her skin.

"Neo, Crimson, meet Nora Valkyrie." Ruby gestured to her new friend with a bright smile. The newly-introduced Nora Valkyrie waved at the both of them, a large smile of her own glowing out at the two.

"Hi! My name's Nora Valkyrie. Wait, Ruby already said that. It's fine if I say it too, right? I mean, it is my _name_. Oh! But you have to be Crimson because your hair is crimson and that means you are Neo, nice to meet you both!"

"Nice to meet you too, Nora. Heard you and Ruby had quite the duet in the shower." Crimson, initially surprised by the _storm_ of words that Nora had spouted forth, decided that Neo was not over-exaggerating when she said that Ruby's new friend was bubbly. But by the Gods, she looked like fun!

"Yep! It was mostly about pancakes, though. Do you like pancakes?" Nora looked at Crimson seriously, as if her question was of the utmost importance. He shrugged.

"Eh, not really. More of a pastry man myself."

No one could have foreseen what those words would cause to happen. Moving like a bolt of lightning, the girl grabbed Crimson by the collar of his trench coat and hoisted him to his feet. The fact that he stood nearly three heads taller than her went ignored.

"What?!" Nora cried distraughtly. "How can you not like pancakes?! Don't you have a soul?!"

"Good evening, Ruby? I…what?" A perplexed Skyler Snow took in the scene before him. Ruby who looked like she was choking back disabling laughter, Neo who looked like she was about to explode from what Skyler could only assume to be _burning_ rage, and Crimson who was being held hostage by an unknown girl in her pajamas who he could only assume to be Ruby's shower friend. "What did I _miss_?"

"Skyler Snow, Nora Valkyrie. Nora Valkyrie, Skyler Snow." Ruby introduced, waving her hand between the two. Nora nodded at Skyler, her expression distant and sad. Skyler frowned before turning a hard gaze towards the person she still held in a fast grip.

"Zombie Boy, what _did_ you do?"

"Okay, first of all-wait, Zombie Boy?" He arched an eyebrow at his questioner. "Really?"

"Given the so-called creativity that went into _my_ nickname, you are in no place to judge." He crossed his arms, the silk on his long-sleeved sleeping shirt rustling. "Now answer the question. What did you do to Ms. Valkyrie to make her look like she wants to cry?"

"I just said I like pastries better than pancakes." Crimson defended, but a gasp from Nora caused him to look down and sigh at the sight of her heartbroken eyes. "That's not fair at all, you know."

Whether it as just the sheer strength of emotions running through her or if she was actively trying to weaken Crimson's will, Nora's lip started to tremble, a slight motion that was all the more affecting.

"Oh, by the Gods, that _will not_ work on me!" Crimson groaned, causing Nora to just try harder. "No! I refuse to trade in éclairs for pancakes! I don't care if that makes me a monster, I need chocolate in my breakfast!"

"Wait, there are pastries with chocolate in them?" Nora dropped the heartbroken act and looked suspiciously at her hostage. He shrugged.

"Sure. Well, in the case of éclairs, the chocolate is spread on top while the inside is-."

"But they have chocolate?" Nora watched as Crimson nodded, ignoring the roll of his eyes that her interruption brought forth. Watching him for a moment, she released her grip and stepped back, eye narrowed. "Do you know _how_ to make those chocolate pastries?"

Crimson realized where she was going with this and smiled. "As a matter of fact, I do, and I promise to make some for you after initiation is finished. A small token of forgiveness for saying I don't like pancakes."

"Deal!" And like a rubber band, Nora snapped back to her bubbly self. "Don't fail though or I'll have to hunt you down to get my pastries. Anyways, good-night! I hope you all pass initiation!" And with that, she cheerfully skipped down the row of sleeping bags to wherever she had set up camp for the night.

"Well, that was odd." Skyler shook his head and began to unroll his own sleeping back beside Neo's and Ruby's. Ruby just smiled.

"Nora's just energetic and _maybe_ slightly crazed. She's great once you get to know her!"

"Which you did in the showers?" Skyler was dubious at the unconventional meeting place, she just waved the incertitude aside.

"The best friends are the ones you meet in the weirdest places. Just look at me and Neo!" Ruby slung an arm across Neo's shoulders. "I punched her in the face the first time we met!"

The tension that Neo had been feeling ever since she stormed out of the showers began to drain away at Ruby's touch. Even as she tried to fight it, Neo could feel her irritation vanish.

 _Stop causing me to relax! I was supposed to be annoyed with you!_ Neo huffed, but it was an impossible task to try and feel anything except comfort and the familiar warmth blossoming up inside of her chest. She started to lean into Ruby's side.

"Adorable, that's what you two are," Crimson said as he fell back onto the bare floor, stretching out as if it was a down mattress. "But we have initiation tomorrow and I rather not be a sleep-deprived zombie when Ozpin unleashes whatever hellish test he has planned for us. So, good-night, sweet dreams, I sleep with my weapons."

And with that, he closed his eyes and drifted off, already fast asleep on the bare floor.

"Did he just threaten us?" Skyler looked distrustfully at Crimson's sleeping form as he sank into the warm comfort of his sleeping bag. "Or is that just another part of his insanity?"

"I am too tired to start figuring out the inner workings of Crimson's warped mind. I'm going to bed." Ruby moved off of Neo's sleeping bag and onto her own, the ballroom growing darker by the second as other students did the same. "Good-night, Neo!"

" _Good-night, Ruby. Sleep well."_ Neo smiled softly as she watched Ruby burrow into her sleeping bag until only the top of her head peaked out. Sliding into the soft embrace of her own sleeping bag, Neo closed her eyes and felt sleep began to overtake her. One last thought running through her mind before she was lost to the waking world.

 _Maybe I can do it this time. Maybe I can get past everything that has been holding me back. Maybe, while I'm at this blasted school, I can admit my true feelings to Ruby._

* * *

 **And done! What did you think? And let me say, thank you so much to all the people who have been reviewing, following, and favoriting this story! You guys are truly awesome! I am sorry that I haven't been responding to reviews very much lately, but that should change in the coming week when I have more time on my hands. Anyways, I hope you are enjoying this story and I'll see you all in the next chapter!**

 **Next update: 1/18/2019**


	5. Of Forest Walks and Cardinal Beatings

**Welcome back to Bloodbound! I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The locker rooms of Beacon Academy shone in the golden light of early morning and rang with the dismal groans of one Crimson Shard.

"I thought you said something about _not_ being a sleep-deprived zombie." Ruby ached an eyebrow at the near-pathetic figure draped out over the bench. "You're looking very zombie-ish to me."

" _That's because he slept on the floor, didn't bathe for what I believe the sole reason of not wanting to redo his hair, and is paler than an Atlasian shut-in."_ Neo pulled Deadly Elegance out of her locker and spun it her hand, comforted by the familiar weight of it.

"All morning people can shut up!" Crimson sild off the bench and onto the floor, either in a failed attempt to get on his feet or he just lost the will to live. "Everyone else can shut up too. In fact, no one speak to me for at least another hour."

"I'm afraid you only have about twelve minutes to get off the floor and start being social." Skyler swung his watch by its chain over Crimson's face. "Initiation is about to begin."

"Ugh." Crimson sat up, a gloomy look on his face, and watched as Ruby pulled her weapon out of her locker. "Okay, I got to ask, what possessed you to build an HCSS? Those things are dangerous, sure, but they're also big, flashy, and completely useless at close range."

Ruby looked like she had been _slapped_. "Okay, first, how dare you. Second, how _dare_ you! Crescent Rose is an amazing machine of deadly precision and awesome destruction. Who cares if I take out a few walls when danger gets a little close!" Ruby crossed her arms. "What better-then-thou weapons are _you_ using?"

Crimson just reached behind him, hand gripping one of the steel handles that were hidden by his trench coat and pulled out a long, mirror-like-

"Cleaver? You use cleavers?" Ruby was dumbfounded. "You use an oversized butcher's tool and dare to insult a High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe?!"

"Oversized butcher's tool?!" Crimson leaped to his feet, cleaver still in hand. "Scythes are farming tools; I'll have you know. So, don't be insulting my cleavers, Nergal and Viduus have feelings too!"

"I _hate_ to interrupt this delightful conversation," Skyler rolled his eyes. "But we don't really have time for a weapon measuring contest. Both of your weapons are pretty and equally deadly, move on with your lives."

Ruby placed Crescent Rose in its sling before crossing her arms. "Fine, but this conversation isn't over, got it?"

Crimson sheathed his cleaver next to its twin. "Loud and clear, Red Leader. I'm looking forward to _settling_ the matter soon."

"That's _not_ moving on with your lives," Skyler said hotly. Neo came up and patted him on the shoulder.

" _Look on the bright side, Skyler, at least we'll get a good fight out of this!"_

"Um…excuse me?"

As one, the four looked over to see a tall, blond huntsman-in-training looking at them in apprehension, his plates of armor reflecting the morning light. He pointed to a locker behind them that stood in the middle of theirs.

"Sorry about interrupting, but I need to get into my locker. It took me a while to find it and I'm not sure how much time I have left until initiation begins." He was shorter then Crimson, but taller than the other three people he was facing. Neo looked like she wanted to grumble disdainfully at that fact.

"Seven minutes," Skyler called, seemingly by instinct, before moving out of the way of the boy's locker. "Sorry about that. My name is Skyler Snow; you are?"

"Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it." The greeting seemed to be more hopeful, then enthusiastic. Hope that was quickly squashed when Neo broke into a fit of hoarse giggling that spoke of mockery and a very low opinion of the newly introduced Jaune Arc.

Her companions thought that might have been a little harsh. Ruby had already developed a liking to the awkward blond, he was like a dorky puppy.

 _A dorky puppy with a sword._ She observed as Jaune pulled a sword in gleaming tempered steel sheathe out of his locker and strapped it to his hip. His fingers fumbling slightly with the buckles, Ruby frowned.

 _Is he…not used to his own weapon?_ Her forehead creased in confusion. _Maybe it's nerves, it wouldn't make any sense if he just came gallivanting into Beacon without knowing how to even buckle on his sword!_

She _hoped_ , anyway. Ozpin did let _her_ in, despite being fifteen and having not attended any official combat schools prior to being in the wrong place at the wrong time…or right place at the right time depending on how you want to look at it. Ruby couldn't bring herself to decide just yet.

"Is she always like that?"

The sound of Jaune's voice snapped Ruby out of her thoughts and she blinked at the sight of his hand still offered to her even though he was looking at a shrugging Neo.

" _She spaces out sometimes, you get used to it."_ Neo snapped her fingers in front of Ruby's face. _"You awake? Come on, we got things to do."_

"Yeah, yeah, stay in the present, I got it." Ruby waved Neo's hand away and looked around at the people gathered around her. Her official-by-some-means-highly-illegal-in-most-others team ready for whatever was about to be thrown at them.

And Jaune…was walking towards to a pair of girls nearby. One of whom whose hair rivaled Crimson's and was nearly as tall as Jaune while the other was a shorter girl dressed in white and with hair the same color as fresh snow.

 _A Schnee?_ Ruby's eyes widened in surprise. _Never expected to see one of THEM risking their lives at Beacon._

Today was just going to be a day of surprises, wasn't it?

Neo nudged her and gestured to Jaune who leaned in close to the two girls and appeared to be trying flirt with them. 'Trying' being the keyword. Even from where she stood, Ruby could _feel_ the discomfort emitting from the Schnee as she leaned back away from Jaune as he leaned forward, putting his head on par with the girl in white.

" _Pyrrha_ , a little help, please?!"

 _Thunk._

 _Sweet Dust, Ginger just speared Jaune!_ Ruby's shocked thought was cut through by relief when she saw that, no, Jaune was not skewered but merely pinned to the wall by a javelin cutting through the fabric on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry!" The clothing impaler, Pyrrha, called out to her victim. Ruby narrowed her eyes at the javelin. _Uh, that looks awfully familiar. Where have I seen it before? Maybe on TV?_

Before she could figure it out, however, Goodwitch's voice rang out over Beacon's sound system.

"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation. Again, would all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

"Well, time to do and die." Ruby began to walk forward, her team standing still for a moment before going after her.

"Um, you mean to do _or_ die, right?" Skyler asked, casting a narrowed look at the hitman who shrugged.

"Sure." Glancing to the side, Ruby held a finger out. "Just a minute, I need to go help flirt-tastic off the floor."

Pyrrha of the javelin throwing had yanked her weapon out of the wall, allowing Jaune slid down to the floor with a dejected expression. Ruby offered him a hand.

"Hi, I'm Ruby Rose, you're Jaune, right?"

"Yeah." He sighed, taking her hand. "That's me." Wincing a bit as he got to his feet, Jaune looked at the four people assembled before him. Two he knew, two were still friends waiting to be met!

Ruby took the liberty of introducing Jaune to them. "The short one is Neo and the tall one -Crimson! Come back here! -is Crimson Shard."

Neo waved while Crimson merely nodded before flashing irate eyes towards Ruby.

"It has come to my attention that initiation is going to be held at the cliffs. I don't know why and I don't know how, but given the fact that it is being held on the _edge of a cliff_ , I want to get there as soon as I can." He glanced at Jaune. "No offense, man."

"Um…none taken?" Jaune wasn't sure why this guy was so excited about a cliff, but then again, who was he to judge? Crimson nodded again in response and looked at Ruby, his foot tapping the floor.

"Edge of a cliff, Red Leader, the edge of a cliff."

"Yes, I got it." Ruby rolled her eyes before gesturing for Crimson to go ahead. She turned to the three people she was left with. "Come on, guys, Jaune. Let's go see what awaits us at the edge of a cliff."

* * *

 _Wow, we are literally on the edge of a cliff."_

When Ruby had first heard Goodwitch's announcement, she had thought that they might have been simply _near_ cliffs. Then Crimson came blundering in, saying something about initiation having to do on the cliff's edges and Ruby was half-tempted to simply dismiss his words as something he just came up with.

 _But nope, he was right. I hope that isn't going to become a regular thing. If a psychopath of all people is constantly proven right, the world will burn and he will be there every moment to enjoy it._

Ruby snapped out of her thoughts when Headmaster Ozpin, who was standing in front of them, Goodwitch by his side and a high abyss at his back, began to speak.

"For years you have trained to be warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Almost as if they rehearsed this, Goodwitch stepped forward to address the students as soon as Ozpin stopped talking.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams'." Goodwitch leveled steely eyes at the people that were about to try their best to enter her school. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates… _today_."

Ruby blinked before nodding as a plan formed in her head. _Okay, chances are me and Neo will be on the same team. Especially if Ozpin sees us fight together, we practically have it down to an art form._

Like a clockwork, as soon as Goodwitch stopped talking, Ozpin took her place.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin then felt his lips lift in the tiniest hint of a smirk before he smothered it down. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next _four_ _years_."

Ruby cocked her head to the side. _I may need you to repeat that because WHAT?! What'd mean the first person you make eye contact with, that's stupid!_

Distantly, she heard Crimson sniggering. It seems that her suspicions about him just wanting to watch the whole world burn were correct. Only a madman could have _laughed_ at the Headmaster's rule.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest." Ozpin continued, either oblivious or indifferent to the student's plight. "You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you _will_ die."

Ruby couldn't help the groan that slipped past her lips and she cast a beseeching look at Neo who stood farther up the line. The colorful girl just shrugged helplessly in response, it wasn't like she could just kill the man who was currently making their lives harder. The nervous laugh that Jaune whimpered out made it clear to Ruby that she was not the only one was dreading initiation more with every second as the professors before they spoke.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene." Ozpin's voice was like the chime of _doom_ in Ruby's ears. "You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Jaune raised his hand, the nervousness that he felt clear on his face. "Yeah, um, sir?"

"Good!" Ozpin, who Ruby now swore was _enjoying_ this, gestured to the assembled hunters-in-training. "Now, take your positions."

There was shifting in their rank as people took out weapons, lowered themselves into crouches, and readied their bodies for what was coming. Ruby wished she paid more attention to all the Beacon files Roman stole, she had no idea what might happen next. If Jaune's still raised hand was anything to go be, neither did he.

"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question." The sounds of whirring gears accompanied his voice as Weiss Schnee was launched towards the green expanse of the forest below by the metal platform-slash-catapult she was standing on. Ruby lifted her eyebrows. _Oh, so that's what we're doing…great._

Jaune, however, cared more about his question being answered than the fact that his fellow aspirees were getting propelled through the air. "So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?"

Ozpin smothered another smirk. "No. You will be falling."

The catapults continued to launch (Crimson flying off into the distance in a sprawl of limbs and leather.) and Jaune swallowed as it got closer and closer to his turn.

"Oh, uh, I see..." Jaune rubbed the back of his head as he saw Skyler place a firm hand on his hat before joining the others in falling through the sky. "So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?"

"No. You will be using your own landing strategy." Ozpin moved his eyes away from Jaune and gazed at the remaining students. Neo becoming a blur of color as she was catapulted away, Ruby watched her as she fell before shaking her head and falling back into her stance. Neo was tough, she would be fine.

The next two hunters-in-training to go was Nora and a boy with long black hair that Ruby could only assume to be Nora's 'best friend Ren' whom she talked about, in length, in the showers the other night. Nora waved at Ruby as she was hurtled over the cliff side and Ruby waved back, a small smile on her face. _Maybe meeting new people isn't so bad after_ _all._

* * *

 _Somewhere below Beacon Cliff…_

Neo had no name for the strange feeling that washed over her, but she had a sudden desire to find the nearest stack of pancakes and viciously stab it to death.

* * *

 _Back on Beacon Cliff…_

Jaune fidgeted as he thought about the Headmaster's words of 'landing strategy'. "Uh-huh...yeah…"

Only four students remained on the cliff above the Emerald Forest, and Ruby looked over to see the two people Crimson, Neo, and Skyler had sworn off interacting with ever again after their slightly horrific first encounter. Yang Xiao Long and Ebon Winters. Ruby watched them from the corner of her eye as Xiao Long let out a whoop as she used her gauntlets -Duel-Ranged Shot Gauntlets, Ruby realized- to blast herself into the air as her platform sprung upwards. Winters unsheathed her nodachi and, with a quick push of some hidden button, mecha-shifted it into its longbow form as she followed the lead of her friend and was catapulted into the forest below.

There were only two students left on the cliff edge and if the low sounds of mechanisms below her feet were anything to go by, Ruby was about to be ejected into orbit.

 _Here we go, into the great, potentially deadly, abyss._

As she was launched into the sky, she heard Jaune still trying to get Ozpin to answer his question.

"So, what exactly is a landing strategYYYY-YYYY-YYY!"

And if his surprised shriek was anything to go by, he never did get one.

* * *

Neo didn't understand why the universe hated her. She really didn't.

Sure, she was a merciless enforcer for a criminal organization, Sure, she's killed, stolen, and broken more kneecaps than she cared to keep track of. But since when did the universe care? It never had before!

So why, oh why, that after crashing through the forest canopy with her parasol acting like a colorful shield, the first person she made eye contact with was _not_ Ruby Rose?

 _In fact, universe, here's a better question. Why is my partner Crimson friggin' Shard!_

The universe, because it hated her, offered up no sort of answer. If the universe had kneecaps, Neo would break them.

As it was, she _glared_ at the assassin with all the displeasure she felt bubbling up inside her, the assassin who had the gall to just grin back and offer a small wave of all things.

"Wassup, partner?" He clasped his hands behind him and strode forward so that he was standing beside her, the grin still in place as Neo continued to glare at him. "What? Hoping to see _another_ beautiful face?"

" _Shut up, Shard, just because we're stuck together like this doesn't make us friends or people who remotely like each other."_ Neo turned away from him and started off northwards, her body a flash of color among the green-dappled light. Crimson just rolled his eyes and followed.

"You know, the first step to winning Ruby's heart is to stop acting like every person who comes in contact with her is a romantic rival in need of being destroyed. You're crushing on her, not _stalking_ the poor girl."

" _I don't remember coming to you for romantic advice, Shard."_ Neo marched on, despairing the fact that she decided to wear heels into an untamed forest. The decaying vegetation under her feet wreaking havoc upon her once pristine boots. Crimson shrugged at her words, walking through the tangled roots like he was strolling through the park.

"Fine, suit yourself. I'll just be quiet, enjoy the nature, and wonder who the poor idiot it is that's now partners with our glorious Red Leader."

Neo stopped dead in her tracks.

* * *

"Your watch is made out of a tungsten-steel alloy?" Ruby's forehead creased in mild confusion. "But why does it look all fancy and golden than?"

"Never underestimate the power of a good coating, even if it's just for show and not actually useful." Skyler looked over at his new partner as they walked through a clearing of saying ferns, the sounds of birdsong above them and the talk of weapons flowing between them.

"I thought about making my baby out of tungsten, but the weight would have made her too unwieldy to be much good in a fight, so I went with the lighter alloys. Of course, with you using such a small weapon, I guess the weight isn't much of a problem." Ruby mused as her partner realized that if you ever wanted to have a long conversation with Ruby Rose, get her on the topic of weapons.

And then stand back, because sooner or later, her scythe _will_ come out.

And in a whirl of mecha-shifting, the red reaper's tool of death was unfolded in her hand. Ruby then started pointing out the parts which gave her trouble, she as especially proud of, or otherwise wanted to know Skyler's thoughts on.

"I'm afraid Dust mechanics are something I'm not very knowledgeable on. Timelash here," He pointed to the watch strung across his vest. "Is simply made of Mistralian clockwork technology and razor chain. I don't have any mecha-shift capabilities, so what you see is what you get. A glorified monkey fist…just with, you know, hundreds of tiny blades and steel instead of knots."

"Ah," They walked in silence for a moment before Ruby turned back to Skyler, a small frown on her face. "Okay, wait a minute, _razor chain_? Isn't that the stuff you have to basically _bathe_ in aura to use so that it doesn't slice off your hands or anything _else_ it happens to touch? That drains your aura to a point where you're practically naked in battle!"

Skyler held up his arms in a shrug. "In my defense, I made it with the intention of only killing the odd security guard or rival criminal, not creating mountains of corpses. I'm a thief, not a Crimson Shard, I like getting in and out of places with as little trouble as possible."

Ruby snorted at Skyler's words. "I think even _Crimson_ used stealth every once and while."

They both about that for a minute before shaking their heads. "Nah."

"I don't even think Zombie Boy is physically capable of being stealthy, not with his hair, and giant cleaves, and…odd personality." Skyler shook his head. "But he's survived this long, so who am I to judge how he manages it."

"That's true," Ruby agreed, Crescent Rose now resting on her shoulder, too occupied by the conversation to put the weapon away. "Whatever he does, it seems to work just fine. I wonder where he is right now?"

"I don't know; I haven't heard any horrified screaming since I got here." Skyler cocked his head to the side as if listening for the sounds of a bloodbath. "I do, however, hear something large and probably very Grimmy coming for us in a hurry from the east. Should we fight or make a hasty exit?"

Ruby shrugged "I have Crescent Rose out; I might as well put her to good use. Ready your watch, my battle buddy, let's see who can kill our hungry friend first."

Skyler smiled as he pulled Timelash into his hand. Popping the watch open, he pressed down on the pin that held the hands in place and felt the whir of gears turning underneath the porcelains face, the sudden slack in the chain as the majority of it was released.

And heard the crackling of aura as the hundreds of tiny blades tried to slice through his gloves and remove the flesh from his bones. Sparing a quick glance beside him, he saw Ruby rolled her shoulders as she held Crescent Rose in her hands.

When the sounds of crushing footfalls and panting growls seemed to be like thunder and the stench of Grimm soiled the air, the two just waited with the instruments of killers in their hands and calm expressions on their faces.

* * *

"Ten!"

" _Thirteen!"_

"Hey, that was _my_ kill!"

" _Oh, less whining and more Grimm killing."_

The sounds of metal tearing through flesh rang through the trees as the battle below littered the ground with the dissolving corpses of Beowolves. The flash of sharp blades gleaming out from the forest gloom.

 _I gotta hand it to the Grimm, monstrous as they may be, they are GREAT for bonding time!_ Crimson leaned back from the claws of a Beowolf and responded with a swing from his cleaver, taking off the offending limb. The fierce growls that turned into wet gurgles painting a vivid image of what Neo was doing to her own bestial opponents.

It took a while for Crimson to convince Neo to abandon the path of tracking down Ruby's partner and breaking something they love (Like their spine), but he _finally_ managed to do it with minimal physically restraining and the reminding of the fact that killing a person would blow their cover as killers and spies. The only question left afterward was what to do with the still murderous Neopolitan, even he couldn't figure what to do short of challenging her to a fight.

Luckily for them, Neo was practically a spewing volcano of negative energy and the rampaging Grimm that showed up proved to be just what she needed to blow off some steam. Lots of steam. Neo was a sauna trapped in the body of a petite seventeen-year-old by that point.

"Come on, admit it!" Crimson laughed as he planted a cleaver deep into a Beowolf's skull. "This is fun!"

" _I never said it wasn't!"_ Neo stabbed a Grimm through its glowing eye socket and fall back in a cloud of stinking ash and a lingering howl. _"I just said I rather find Ruby and Skyler before we start massacring the local Grimm."_

"Meh." Crimson waved a dismissive hand as he sliced through the mouth of a leaping monster. "The Grimm wait for no one, much less the people out to kill them."

As the last of the pack was stabbed into ash, Neo began making out the sounds of echoing shots and the faint _ka_ _-chunk_ of someone chambering a bullet into place. She grinned.

 _Well, there's Ruby. Sounds like she is having fun too!_

Crimson sheathed his cleavers, Neo vaguely recalling their names to be Nergal and Viduus, and pointed in Ruby's direction with a small grin. "Given the vague sounds of death in that direction, I vote we head over and be reunited with our Red Leader."

Neo snorted and snapped her parasol blade back into Deadly Elegance. _"I thought Ruby told you never you call her that again."_

"She did indeed." He nodded as the two set off towards the sounds of gunfire. "But giving the fact that I don't actually listen to people when they tell me what to do, I chose to ignore that order."

Neo sighed and shook her head. _Oh, isn't he going to be a FUN teammate._

* * *

The Ursa let out a very un-monster-like sound as Ruby drove her scythe in-between the Grimm's shoulder blades, deep into the beast's spine. Skyler having already severed its hind legs with the chain of his weaponized pocket watch.

"That's the last of them!" Ruby hopped down from the dissolving corpse and joined Skyler as he peered into the forest. "What? What is it?"

"I'm not sure." He narrowed his eyes, hands still _dripping_ with razor chain. "But I feel like something dangerous is coming, something feral, something-"

"Incredibly handsome, charming, and fun? Oh, Snowball, I _knew_ we had a connection!"

"Aaaand there goes my peace of mind." Skyler sighed as he and Ruby turned to see Crimson Shard smiling broadly at them. "Hello, Zombie Boy."

"Look at you two!" The tallest member of the team of infiltrators came up and slung his arm around the two partner's shoulders. "All partnered up and killing Grimm. Keep this up and you'll be braiding each other's hair within the month!"

Before Skyler or Ruby could punch him off, Crimson suddenly let go of their shoulders and whirled around to, his aura flickering across his back. Ruby leaned to the side to see Neo standing there, the blade of her parasol free from its fancy sheath and looking deadpan up at an affronted Crimson.

"Did you just _stab_ me in the back?!" He crossed his arms and huffed, a sight strange to see in the eccentric assassin. "We're supposed to be partners! Comrades-in-arms! And then you just threw it all away by-OW!"

Neo had stabbed him again, in his gut this time. Her partner -Ruby was surprised that Neo hadn't just left him to come to find her- responded in kind and drew one of his cleavers from its sheath.

"That's it!" He whirled the cleaver through the air like a theater star. "En garde, heathen!"

The others just stared at him till he lowered the weapon and arched an eyebrow. "What? Too cheesy?"

"Let's just…walk to the temple." Skyler ran a hand down his face. Ruby nodded as she folded down Crescent Rose and sild her into her sling.

"I second that motion, and also, let's keep the challenging of duels to a bare minimum until we get out of the forest."

"You people are no fun at all." Crimson put away the cleaver and pointed northwards. "Shall we hike then? I'll lead the way!"

"HA! No." Skyler pushed past him and started off into the trees, Crimson following behind him with a squawk of protest. Ruby just shook her head with a smile as Neo rolled her eyes. They started off after the two, the sounds of their quibbling making it easy.

"So," Ruby said after a moment, turning a sly eye towards the girl beside her. "Crimson's your partner, uh?"

Neo visibly deflated. _"I'm still hoping it won't be as bad as my every instinct is screaming it will be."_

"That's the spirit!"

* * *

"That's an amphitheater, _not_ a temple, and I refuse to believe otherwise." Skyler's arms were crossed as he glared at the mossy structure before them. Ruby just snorted.

"That's your excuse for passing it by three times?"

Skyler devolved off into loathful mutterings, Ruby was beginning to think he did that a lot. The four had stumbled upon the huge clearing where the ancient ruins stood, even from her spot on the hill, Ruby could see the dull glimmering of Ozpin's relics the sight of figures moving inside. She clapped her hands together, drawing her team's attention.

"Alright, people, the end of the first phase of the plan is in sight. That means no one do anything to compromise it, like failing initiation and getting kicked out of Beacon, okay?"

"You got it."

" _Couldn't fail even if I tried."_

"Still not a temple."

"Glad to see everyone understands!" Ruby began marching down the hill. "Now let's go grab a relic!"

As the four of them walked into the temple, they were created to the sight of large chess pieces set up on pedestals and four boys, three armored and one with a mohawk, trying to decide which piece to get.

"Dude, no, we _have_ to get one of the kings." The one with the mohawk was trying to convince the tallest guy in armor. "And I don't know about you, but I'm looking at that black piece."

The big guy snorted. "Yes to the first, no to the second. I'm not going to be labeled as the team who thought they were being edgy when they picked the black king. Gold will have to do for you, now c'mon. Sky, Dove, we're leaving! Someone grab the gold king!"

Golden chess piece in hand, the boys turned around to see the newcomers in the entrance. The eight initiates stared at each other for a long moment before the big guy's eyes landed on Ruby and narrowed into silts.

"Beacon is letting kids in?" He stepped forward, his armor creaking with his movement. "Man, first Faunus freaks and now little girls, how the mighty have fallen."

Ruby looked at the boy for a _long_ moment, a moment which was filled with the sounds of Skyler sighing deeply, Crimson chuckling darkly, and Neo's furious growl, before giving her order.

"Guys, try _not_ to kill them."

Neo was a blur of color as she launched herself at the big guy and clambered up his armor like an enraged viper, the boy already shouting in pain as she delivered a storm of bone-crushing blows upon his exposed head and neck with her parasol. Crimson went after the guy with the mohawk, grin and cleavers blazing in the sunlight as he proceeded to hack the boy's aura into nonexistence in a flurry of flashing blades. Skyler, a near-bored expression on his face, let Timelash fly from his hand and slam into the shortest boy's forehead before he nearly disappeared in a blur of motion and slamming the watch across his opponent's face too fast for the naked eyes to follow.

Ruby was left with the guy with the long hair as he charged at her with a polearm aimed at her chest. She pulled out Crescent Rose and unfolded it.

 _Ah, beating rude idiots is so satisfying._

Just as the long-haired boy was about to slash down, Ruby delivered an upwards swung with her blade that sent him and his polearm flying back in two separate directions. Spinning the scythe in her arms, Ruby took aim as he hit the ground and fired off a shot that struck directly in his chest, shattering a rib as his aura flared wildly across his torso.

Wisely, the would-be attacker decided to just stay down.

"Well, that was fun. A little quick, but want can you expect with chumps like these." Crimson stretched, weapons already back in their sheaths, guy with the green mohawk lying face down on the ground and making a noise halfway between a groan and a whimper. Skyler nodded agreeingly as he bruised specks of dirt of his suit, his own opponent lying flat on his back and looking dazed.

Neo's opponent, on the other hand, was _very_ unconscious with Neo looking down at his fallen form with contempt. For a moment, Ruby thought she might spit, but the shorter girl just turned away and gave Rub a thumbs up.

" _No one dead on my end."_

Ruby smiled and put away Crescent Rose. "Excellent, now let's get a chess piece and get out of this idiot-infested forest."

"Sounds good!" Crimson gestured to Skyler. "Snowball, fetch us a piece!"

Skyler responded by throwing a black pawn at his head.

"I thought the black pawn was rather appropriate given our current circumstances." Skyler walked over the short guy's prone body, ignoring the grunt of pain that accompanied it. "Even if it is a depressing concept to think about."

 _All of us pawns to a homicidal psychopath._ Ruby eyed the chess piece in her partner's hand. _Yep, that's depressing alright._

Shaking her head, Ruby gestured to the distant cliffs that rose above the forest. "Well, let's get going before these guys get up and we have to beat them into submission again."

The four set off towards the cliffs, Crimson rubbing the sore spot on his head as Neo sniggered, they're pawn clutched in her hands. Skyler seemed to be relaxed as if the sudden fight did him some good, Ruby could relate. She felt alive and fresh, ready to take on anything that comes her way!

* * *

Ruby was _not_ ready to climb up the cliff, but with no other option in sight and the desire to leave the vast forest growing by the second, there was just no other choice. And when they climbed halfway up and Ruby realized how high they were, going back was quickly crossed off the list. At least the conversation proved to be interesting.

"Whoa, fellow bad guys, check out the view!" Crimson gazed across the vast expanse of green that stretched to the distant horizon, a look of wonder in his eyes. "I think I can see the ocean from here! Wait, or is that more trees?"

"Can we _please_ hurry up and get this over with?" Skyler was about as excited as Ruby about what they were doing. "I have rocks in my _everywhere_!"

"Yeah, yeah." Crimson rolled his eyes before they widened to the size of saucers. "Giant Nevermore passing by! Quick, someone take a picture!"

" _Hands are busy making sure I don't fall and die, sorry."_ Neo turned her head to watch the avian Grimm go by, thankfully not noticing the small specks of color on the cliff. She, however, _did_ notice the small specks of color on _its_ back. _"Uh, guys, the death pigeon has riders!"_

As one, Ruby and Skyler turned from their arduous task and stared at the Nevermore with shock, there was no mistaking it, the Grimm had two riders holding tight to its broad and reeking back. Ruby could _just_ make out who they were.

"It's the Schnee and Winters!"

"Is it now?" Crimson would have rubbed his chin thoughtful if doing wouldn't have resulted in him splattering stories below. _Maybe I WAS a bit too hasty in swearing off interaction with her, anyone who rides a Grimm into battle HAS to be fun._

The thought of traversing on a huge monster caused a wistful feeling to bloom in his chest. "Guys, I want to ride a Nevermore."

There was a bit of silence for a moment before Neo's 'voice' drifted up from below.

" _Crimson Shard, that's disgusting."_

"Not as disgusting as your mind, apparently, if _that_ was the first thing you thought about!" He shot back defiantly.

"Obviously, both of your minds are disgusting if you consider _that_ meaning at all!" Skyler raised his voice. "And now _my_ mind's disgusting too! Thank you for putting images into my head, you filthy-minded barbarians!"

"Okay, consider me sheltered, but what _meaning_?" Ruby looked around to see Skyler looking at her blankly. After a moment, he shook his head.

"Of course Mr. Torchwick would try and keep those sorts of things away from at least _one_ of his children and _of course_ it happens to be the _hitman_." He looked seriously at Ruby. "My dear partner, I pray you never find out. Please, don't go looking."

And on they climbed, with Neo and Crimson traded words and insults that Ruby knew were probably innuendos of some very dirty degree and Skyler's face twisting into an ever-increasingly disgusted expression. Ruby sighed.

 _I sure hope Cinder never decided to visit us, I don't think any of us would survive the encounter after she sees that THIS is her backup."_

xXx

Twenty minutes and a couple hundred lewd mental images for Skyler later, they reach the top of the cliff and pulled themselves up into the soft grass, the sounds of explosions and gunfire coming from the forest below.

"My brain says go joined in the fight." Crimson rolled his shoulders and winced. "But my arms threaten to fall off if I do."

"Then perhaps you should not have beaten misters Winchester, Bronzewing, Lark, and Thrush within an inch of their lives." The cool voice caused the four to whirl around, almost falling back over the edge of the cliff in doing so, to see the intimidating figure of Glynda Goodwitch leveling a hard gaze at them, eyes gimlet with disapproval.

Ruby, however, crossed her arms. "They said some very unkind things about me and a large majority of the students here at Beacon, so me and my friends showed them the error of their ways. They're still alive, aren't they?"

"Yes." The professor said in a clipped tone, implying that was _not_ the point. "But-"

"Okay, listen," Crimson stepped forward despite Skyler and Neo's various noises of objection. "We didn't like them, and if you know them, you wouldn't be a fan either. So, let's say that the misters whatever slipped on a bar of forest soap and call it a day. Eh, what do you say?"

It was a new experience for the four hardened criminals to see someone _snarl_ with their eyes alone.

* * *

"Ruby Rose." Ozpin locked gazes with her.

 _I can't believe we all got dentation for the next month. We aren't even technically students yet!_ Ruby resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. _First thing I'm going to do when this forming of teams thing is over is glue Crimson's mouth shut._

"Neopolitan Sorbet." Heterochromatic eyes met stern brown and Neo pushed down a snort.

 _I really don't use that fake last name enough. The world needs more frozen treat-related things. Shame I'm going to be scrubbing down restrooms for the next month! It really is remarkable I'm so calm for feeling such a BURNING RAGE TOWARDS THAT LOUDMOUTHED IDIOT!_

"Skyler Snow." Ozpin paused for a moment at the sight of the well-dressed teen's glazed eyes.

 _Damn the nitwits we beat up. Damn this school. Damn that moron Shard. And damn the rock that is still in my shoe!_

"Crimson Shard." He smiled at the Headmaster. His thoughts far away.

 _Let's see, if Winters is the leader of Team EWBY –lots of big names in that team, well, two at least- and Nora is in Team JNPR –Nikos was a surprise to see here- that means I have to befriend at least eight people to see where the Grimm rider and pancake girl-wait, Ozpin looks like he's saying something important._

"You four received the black pawn pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RSNC lead by…Ruby Rose."

Neo snapped her head to the shocked Ruby while Crimson pumped his fists into the air, even Skyler snapped out of his anger-induced funk and nodded approvingly at his new leader.

"I'm…the leader?" Ruby couldn't quite believe it, but Neo's warm hand on her shoulder calmed her racing heart. She looked down to see her friend smiling happily up at her.

" _I couldn't wish for better one."_ Neo's smile widened. _"Now, let's go throw Crimson out a window."_

Ozpin simply looked at the four students, thinking back on the piece they picked and what happened while they were in the forest. Finally, he uttered a single sentence.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be a … _interesting_ year."

 _A very interesting year, indeed._

* * *

Ruby collapsed in her new bed in _her_ dorm room. Team RSNC's dorm room. _Her_ team's dorm room.

 _Sweet Dust, I'm in charge of three other people. I don't know whether to be thrilled or terrified!_

"I think the first thing we need to do tomorrow is decorating." Crimson mused as he looked around the room. "It's a bit boring in here."

" _You_ don't get to make decisions!" Skyler poked his head of the bathroom, his arm wildly waving a toothbrush as he spoke. "We're all cleaning school restrooms because of you!"

" _Yeah, and your initial is last in the team acronym, that means you're at the bottom of the totem pole!"_ Neo crossed her arms. _"Now, go take a shower, you smell like woods and unwashed boy."_

"Joke's on you! I _am_ an unwashed boy who was in the woods all day." Crimson pointed a finger at Neo. "And you're only one above me on the team name, by your logic that means Snowball should be able to give you orders!"

"Do _not_ bring me into this!"

"You're the one you started this argument, stupid!"

Ruby tuned out her team's squabbling and checked her Scroll as it dinged with a new message. Pulling it out of her pocket, she flicked upon the messages tab and saw that the message had come from an unknown number. She took a deep breath.

 _It's either Roman on a secure Scroll or…other people._ With a little trepidation, she tapped the message…and gulped. _It's from other people, lovely._

Reading through the message, Ruby found that she had to take yet another deep breath. _One initiation down, one more to go._

Turning back to her team, Ruby clapped her hand, silencing their argument. One look at her face and they knew that the roles of students were to be dropped and their real jobs picked up again.

" _Rubies, what is it?"_ Neo took a step forward, her eyes worried.

"Good question." Ruby grimaced as she held up her Scroll. "I hope you three are ready for some crime because we just got our first assignment from Cinder Fall."

* * *

 **And I hope you people are ready for less than legal activities too! But, unfortunately, you're going to have to wait until next week to see what said activates are. Be warned, things are really going to pick up from here, this is the last chapter that might be considered slow. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it regardless and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **Next update: 1/25/2019**


	6. Failure and Attempted Stabbings

**Back again. Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, family issues came up, but they are now resolved and the regular update schedule is back, so enjoy the sixth chapter of Bloodbound!**

* * *

 _ **Previously, on Bloodbound…**_

" _Rubies, are you alright?"_

" _Good question." Ruby grimaced as she held up her Scroll. "I hope you three are ready for some crime because we just got our first assignment from Cinder Fall."_

* * *

 _ **Currently, on Bloodbound…**_

Neo tensed at her leader's words, a harsh feeling coming over her at the mention of _that_ woman's name. Taking a calming breath, she decided to get the worst of what would come next over with.

" _Okay, so what's the assignment?"_

When Ruby lifted worry-filled eyes, Neo felt her throat clenched. Speaking slowly, as if not _quite_ believing the words coming out of her mouth, Ruby told her team what the night will bring.

"Cinder wants us to assassinate Blake Belladonna," Her eyes flickered down to the Scroll. "Oh, and frame it on Beacon."

The silence that followed could only be described as _taut_ , as if the entire world was keeping quiet to avoid spilling the secret of what has just been spoken. Finally, Crimson sighed.

"That's my cue, I guess." He made to turn away, but paused at the last moment and turned back to Ruby. "Unless, of course, you want to take this one?"

She thought about it, running the risks through her head before shaking it. "No, despite how much it pains me to say this, you were right about Crescent Rose. She's loud and flashy and not really suited for killing a person in bed. You, on the other hand…"

"Am perfectly suited for quiet kills." Crimson finished, nodding his head. "Right then, I can't use my cleavers if we are still trying to keep a low profile, but I can work without them." He clapped his hands before rubbing them together as if trying to warm them and walked over to his bed. "Welp, no sense in putting the deed off. I'm thinking of framing those idiots we beat up in the forest, the ones that all got shoved onto the same team."

"Team CRDL." Skyler supplied, having memorized their fellow first-years and their teams because that is what one just _did_ if they were a criminal at Beacon. "As I recall, their leader was going on about something involving 'Faunus freaks' before we beat the bigotries out of them."

"Yeah, those guys, I mean, they're perfect!" Crimson looked over to his teammates as he lifted a _huge_ duffel bag off the floor and unzipped it. "Any objections?"

"Nah."

"Not really, no."

" _Let 'em burn."_

"Great!" The assassin pulled a set of clothes out of his duffel bag before withdrawing a white mask that some madman shaped to resemble the Creatures of Grimm. Ruby cocked an eyebrow.

"Is that a White Fang uniform? Why do have a White Fang uniform?" She raised her hand. "Nope, actually, better question. Why are you going to _wear_ a White Fang uniform?"

"Because in the off chance Belladonna or any of her teammates wake up and see me, I rather they see some White Fang member instead of, you know, _me._ " Crimson gathered the outfit in his arms and turned towards the bathroom. "And you know, given Belladonna's past, the whole vengeful Fanger thing makes sense."

"I never said-wait, what?" Ruby face scrunched up in confusion. "Back up, what about Belladonna's past? Why would the Fang care about a huntress-in-training?"

The assassin paused in the doorway of the bathroom and sighed, chucking the clothes and mask in before turning back to Ruby. "Well, color me disappointed, Red Leader. Tell you what, though, sometime tomorrow, remind me to give you a history lesson of the soon-to-be-deceased Blake Belladonna and her _lovely_ family."

"Morbid and confusing, but sure!" Ruby waved her fingers mockingly. "Well, off you go, put on your fanatic uniform and go kill people."

"Oh, what would I do without your insightful orders, my glorious leader." Crimson rolled his eyes as she shut the bathroom door, the rustling of clothing coming a moment later. The three other members of Team RSNC stared at the door for just moment longer, all with varying expressions of bewilderment and vexation at their more eccentric teammate, before Ruby decided to get the less gory parts of their new assignment taken care of.

"Hey, Skyler, can you break into CRDL's dorm room and steal some incriminating evidence we can use to frame them?"

The thief shrugged, the silk of his pajamas rustling. "Sure, I'll be back momentarily if everything goes well. Try not to get caught while I'm gone."

He slipped out the door, leaving Neo and Ruby alone, thinking about what was to come. To Ruby, it was something that must be done. To protect Neo and Roman from Cinder's flames, Ruby would have killed a thousand students. For Neo, it was much the same, she valued her life and the lives of her family more than any number of others, but the act of appeasing Cinder left dark emotion festering inside of her.

 _Why does Cinder even care about some random student anyways? What does she have to gain?_ Neo bite her check in disquiet, the entire situation not making any sort of sense to the enforcer. Not for the first time, the worry of what Roman had gotten them all into when he sold away his soul to Cinder Fall crept over her.

"Hey, it's alright." Ruby's soft voice caused Neo to break out of her grim thoughts and the shorter girl looked up to see a smile filled with comfort and warmth. For a moment, Neo forgot her troubles with the world and contentment filled her at the mere sight of _that_ smile.

" _W-what?"_

Ruby pointed to Neo's cheek. "You bite your cheek when you are really stressed about something, and with all that's happening, I guess you _do_ have a lot to be stressed about, but I know it will be alright." She placed her hand on Neo's shoulder. "Whatever Cinder has planned, we'll get through it together, I promise."

" _Ruby…"_ Neo took a deep breath. _"Ruby, I-"_

"Man, I really do look good in anyth-oh, damn it!"

The girls whirled around to see a visibly upset Crimson Shard, dressed in the fatigues of terrorists and framed by the light of the bathroom, looking in between the two of them.

"Oh, if only I had waited another five minutes." He whispered in what Ruby was bewildered to find to be _anguish_.

"What are you talking about?" Ruby's confusion only grew when, at her question, Crimson's expression grew emotionless and he walked towards his duffel bag with a huff.

"Nothing, I meant _nothing_. Forget I said anything. I'm going to go kill a person now." Pulling a long dagger out of his bag, he turned back to them and strapped on the Grimm mask that he had held in his hand. "How do I look?"

Ruby eyed him. "Like a vicious fanatic, ready to hand out some White Fang justice." She offered a thumbs up. "So exactly how you're supposed to look. Nice dagger by the way."

"Thanks, the guy I stole it from made it himself." The assassin strode to the window and unlatched it, allowing the night wind to stir the curtains. "Close the window behind me, but don't latch it. I'll be coming in the same way I'm going out."

He crawled out, into the blackness, and turned back to his teammates, mask a dull smudge of bone-white. "Wish me luck."

And like that he was gone, as if he had simply dissolved into darkness.

Walking over, Ruby shut the windows with a gentle _clack_ before turning back to face Neo who, for some reason, had a blush on her cheeks. "I'm going to go take a shower, if Crimson gets caught, deny we ever knew him."

Neo smiled faintly at the attempt of humor, though Ruby could tell that _something w_ as bothering her and nodded.

" _Not a problem, I'll help Skyler frame CRDL when he gets back, you go unwind."_

Ruby smiled. "Thanks, Neo. Be careful, okay?"

" _Hey, I'm always careful."_ Putting up another smile, Neo watched as Ruby chuckled before disappearing into the bathroom, the door swinging shut behind her with a firm _click._ As soon as the shower water started running, the smile dropped from her face and Neo walked slowly to her bed in the corner of the room and sat down upon it, burying her face into her hands a moment later.

 _Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! Why is saying it so hard?_

* * *

Crimson would use a lot of words to describe himself. Pretender, observant, smarter than most everyone gives him credit for, and also downright hilarious.

But one word he would _never_ , under any circumstances use to describe all that he was, would be _moral_. It simply disappeared when he first took money to erase a life. And so, when he stood above the sleeping form of Blake Belladonna (Gods both above and below, didn't _that_ make him sound like a serious freak.), his dagger held high, he knew that the word _moral_ would once again escape his grasp.

What he didn't expect, however, was the word _stealthy_ to take leave of him for the evening. Because as he sliced the dagger downwards towards Belladonna's throat, all he stabbed into was a feather-filled pillow. The image of the Faunus vanishing from existence as the cold steel past through it.

 _Damn shadow clones!...wait, what?_

He was not given time to regret his forgetfulness as he was kicked in the back with the force of a hammer blow, launching him over the bed and crashing into its neighbor. In a flash, he was back on his feet and facing down a very angry-looking, very _armed_ , Blake Belladonna.

 _Oh, that's not good._

"How?" The Faunus hissed, so low that Crimson had to strain to hear it. "How are you _here_? Did Adam send you?"

Instead of actual words, the assassin decided to let his dagger do the explaining. _Can't have anyone recognizing my voice, after all._

The clang of metal on metal and the grunts of fighting filled the dorm room, and Crimson knew that his job had just gotten _much_ , _much_ harder. The arms suddenly wrapping around his neck from behind and the sound of war cries driving home that fact.

"Get away from her!" The voice that Crimson recognized as Ebon Winters', the Grimm Rider, yelled right next to his ear as her arms tightened around his neck. Crimson rolled his eyes behind the mask. _What is this woman's obsession with jumping on things that could kill her? It's NOT healthy!_

Throwing Winters off his back into the incoming strike of Belladonna's weapon, Crimson leaped back as the two huntresses-in-training collided with the meaty thud of metal meeting aura-covered flesh, but his retreat turned sour when he practically landed in the arms of the _other_ half of Team EWBY.

 _Oh, crap._

Dodging a punch thrown by Winters' blonde, emotional friend, Crimson sliced his dagger across her face only to feel the blade dulled as it struck aura instead of flesh, he growled as he was forced to dodge another punch. _Gah, this thing is useless against aura! What was I thinking?! Oh yeah, I thought stabbing an asleep and defenseless Hunter student would be easy. Stupid of me to assume THAT!_

Preparing to take another leap for Belladonna, Crimson suddenly found himself unable to move his feet; a quick glance down revealed the reason why. Spinning under his boots like a snowflake made of black ash, was a glyph.

 _Oh, COME ON!_

Snapping his head upwards, he made eye contact with a girl dressed in a pale nightgown, with a hair like a winter breath spilling down her back and a sword clutched in her hand. With eyes like cutting shards of ice, Weiss Schnee glared at the figure dressed as a terrorist.

 _So, you're Weiss, uh? Wow, he wasn't kidding about you hating the White Fang, just look at that glare._

Sensing his eyes on her, even with the mask he wore hiding his face, Weiss's glare sharpened and her voice grew harsh with unadulterated loathing as she spoke.

"Yang, if you will."

Crimson narrowed his eyes as the blonde leaped at him, fist ready to plow into his face. _Yeah, no._

Suddenly a strange feeling washed through the dorm and Yang seemed to slip on the edge of the rug just as she was about to beat her opponent down, instead of _that_ outcome, she went sprawling into Weiss and they went down amidst the sounds of pain and surprise. As soon as the two hit the ground in a flash of aura, the glyph underneath Crimson vanished, leaving him free once again.

He didn't waste the opportunity.

 _So, I'm abandoning the assignment, beats fighting four armed Beacon students with a knife, I'm out!_

When Team EWBY finally stumbled to their feet, the only trace of their assailant left was an open window, letting in the night air. Rushing towards it, Blake peered out, looking for any trace of bone-white in the inky gloom, but finding nothing. Behind her, she heard Yang asking the most obvious and yet the most dreaded question Blake had ever heard.

"Okay, anyone want to explain what the _White Fang_ was doing in our dorm room?"

The huntress-in-training turned around to face the rest of her team, Yang stared cluelessly out the window, Weiss looked to be still on edge, her knuckles straining against her skin as she clutched her weapon at her side, her breath coming out in harsh and uneven pants, Ebon just looked confused and worried, as if too many questions and not enough answers were running through her mind, Blake could more than relate.

But, unknown to the rest of her team, just one _single_ question burned in Ebon Winter's mind like an unquenchable fire. She had been the first to awaken and see Blake and the White Fang member clashing blades, she had been the only other to see the assassin's true target before the team stepped in to fight the attacker off, she had seen _why_ the White Fang member was _here_ at Beacon, in _their_ dorm room.

But she could not for the life of her, figure out why the White Fang wanted to _kill_ Blake Belladonna.

* * *

When Ruby stepped out of the bathroom, freshly showered and ready to turn in for the night, she surprised to say the very least to find a frantic Crimson Shard rushing around their dorm room chucking his dagger to a frazzled Neopolitan.

 _Oh, well, THIS doesn't bode well for our assignment._

"What is going on?" She hissed under her breath, casting a wary eye at the door as if expecting to hear people on the other side trying to knock it down. "What _happened_?!"

"Faunus are practically good at hearing you when you're about to stab them," Crimson said as he also threw his White Fang mask at Neo, revealing his frustrated snarl to the world. "But long story short, I messed up and am now in the process of destroying evidence, now move."

And with that, he shot past Ruby and into the bathroom, the door swinging shut behind him. Ruby turned back to Neo who was shoving the Grimm mask and dagger into Crimson's duffel bag, a mix of concern and fury on her face.

" _Two days, Ruby, we've been at Beacon for a grand total of TWO days and THIS is what happens! This is insane, this is legitimately insane!"_

"I'm more worried about what Cinder will do to us when she hears he failed." Ruby's eyes were still wary, as if she excepted their dorm room to be wreathed in dark flames at any moment. "It's not like we can try again with everyone on high alert."

And it was true. Even as the two spoke, they could hear the sounds of movement and voices filling the hallway outside their door, all drawn by the sounds of a failed assassination. The dorm room door creaked open and Skyler slipped inside, his eyes confused.

Keeping his voice low, he turned to his leader in puzzlement. "It is just me, or are professional assassins not supposed to draw _that_ big of a crowd?"

"Crimson messed up," Ruby said shortly, gesturing to the bathroom door. "He's, uh, disposing of the evidence as we speak."

"Oh, fantastic." Skyler shook his head and walked over the trash can next to one of the desk, taking a white handkerchief of out of suit pocket, shaking out the thin strands of hair that were in its linen folds. "Guess I waltzed around CRDL's filthy bathroom for nothing."

"I think we have bigger problems, like Cinder and who's going to tell her about tonight's fiasco." Ruby shuddered just thinking about that suicidal job and Skyler and Neo did not look like they were quick to put their own lives on the line either, nobody wants to be the one who tells the evil boss they failed. Suddenly, an idea popped into Ruby's head, a wonderful, and safe, idea.

"All in favor of making Crimson do it?"

"Aye."

" _Let 'em burn."_

"Great!" Ruby clapped her hands. "Glad we could get that cleared up without bloodshed, I'll break the news to our dear teammate as soon as he gets out!"

As if on cue, the bathroom door swung upon to reveal Crimson Shard, dressed in a ratty sweater and even rattier pajama bottoms, his hair flat and still dripping with hairspray-scented drops of water. Not recalling him bringing his nightwear in with him, but not really wanting to question it too much, Ruby stepped forward with a smile. The assassin immediately went stone-still and his eyes turned wary.

"What?" In that one word, Crimson revealed _exactly_ much trust he had in his teammates, that is to say, none at all. Ruby rolled her eyes, smile fading along with her usual good cheer.

"Okay, Mr. Paranoid, calm down. We are just going to make you call Cinder to tell her what happened tonight." Like her words meant _nothing_ , Ruby pulled out her Scroll and flicked it open, holding it out for the assassin to take.

Crimson stared at her for a solid minute before speaking.

"You know; this is why I don't trust you people. Why do I have to be the one to tell your boss we failed?"

" _Because you're the one who screwed up."_ Neo crossed her arms, looking hard at her teammate. _"Now, come on, get to it."_

"Awfully bossy for a partner." He grumbled as he took the Scroll from Ruby's outstretched hand, quickly flickering through it to find Ruby's contacts which only had five listed. _Geez, this girl needs to get out more, oh, hey! Nora's on here…best not mention that to Neo._ Shaking his head to clear it from the images what his partner might do if she ever found out, Crimson's eyes landed on the final contract and he took a quick breath to prepare himself for what must be done. Tapping on the messages tab, Crimson sent what may simply be disappointing news or his own death warrant to his new, temporary, boss.

 **Mission failed. Resistance greater than expected. Element of surprise lost. Do not suggest another attempt. –The Assassin, Crimson Shard.**

That was reasonable, right? Surely Cinder Fall could see that and be forgiving?

 _Oh, who am I kidding? The way this night has been going for me, I'll be surprised if Fall doesn't hunt me down and shoot me._ With that happy thought, Crimson handed back the Scroll only for Ruby to back away, arms up as if she was surrendering to enemy soldiers.

"Oh, no you don't, Zombie Boy. You're keeping that until she replies, in case it explodes or something."

"Once again, thank you _so_ much."

Silence filled the dorm room, the sounds of people in the hallway dying down to a mere murmur before fading off entirely. So when the _ping_ of the Scroll sounded like a chime of doom, the entire team couldn't help but flinch.

And when Crimson read the new message, he flinched again. "Ooh, someone is _not_ happy."

Turning the device around, he showed his teammates the fourteen words that seemed to _blister_ with heated anger, even though a screen of glass and Dust.

 **This is the _last_ assignment you fail, make sure of it or I will. **

"Is anyone else getting the mental image of our dead bodies?" Skyler asked as he slowly backed away towards his bed. "Because I am getting some _very_ graphic mental images of our dead bodies."

"Actually, that went a whole lot better than I thought it would." Ruby rubbed the spot between her eyes as it started to ache from beneath her skin. "I was expecting more death threats and death in general."

" _I'm just confused on why she wanted Belladonna dead."_ Neo had decided that Skyler's idea was a good one, and collapsed on her bed. _"I just can't figure any of it out."_

Ruby held up a finger as she fell backward onto her mattress. "Ours is not to question why, ours is but to do and die…or, in Crimson's case, fail miserably."

"You can go shove your scythe _right_ up your-"

" _Goodnight_ , Zombie Boy."

* * *

Cinder Fall was not happy.

No, no, that was too weak to describe what she was feeling.

A bone-melting rage that made want to slaughter half her lackeys as an example and then rip off a few limbs off the survivors just to make sure they got the point? Maybe, but still a bit puny to _really_ capture the absolute fury that scorched her heart and made her stomach boil.

 _Inept scum! Do they think that this is a game? Do they think failure is acceptable?_ Cinder seethed as she paced the long walkway of the warehouse, the air around her simmering with heat. Her two most loyal subordinates Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai stood some ways back as to avoid being caught in the crossfire of their boss's murderous intent.

"Something's _really_ her up into a frenzy this time," Mercury observed safely from the top of a shipping crate. "I think this might be worse than that time we failed to snatched the Maiden powers."

"Has she killed anybody yet?" Emerald leaned against the same crate, keeping Cinder in the corner of her eye, watching for any threats that may pose a danger to her boss, not that Emerald could actually do anything useful if someone that could rival Cinder Fall appeared, but she liked to think it was the thought that counted. From his perch, Mercury peered off into the gloom of the warehouse.

"Nope, don't see any puddles of people or piles of ash anywhere."

"Then _this_ isn't as bad as _that_. Remember those Fanger grunts?" Emerald craned her head upwards as Mercury suddenly chuckled, a cold reminisce gleam in his eyes. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Emerald. Mercury. We're leaving. There has been a change of plans." The sound of their rather rageful boss's voice drove all traces of ease out of their minds and bodies and they hurried to take their places on Cinder's either side. The stale air of the warehouse being replaced by the chemical rank that filled every crack and pore of Vale's warehouse distract as they walked through the warped doors.

"The assassination of Blake Belladonna has failed." Cinder's words caused her two lackeys to glance at each other. She had been very adamant on killing the ex-White Fang member and framing the death on Beacon Academy, something about cementing to her cause the loyalties of a certain overly-obsessive, horned whackjob. But due to either poor planning or poor execution, that plan fell through.

Mercury and Emerald decided to blame poor execution, to say it was poor planning would have implied that it was _Cinder's_ fault. Gathering her courage, Emerald spoke up.

"So, what are we going to do now?"

The woman was silent for so long that Emerald began to fear that she had overstepped her bounds and Mercury would have to sweep her ashes off the ground. But just as she was about to start apologizing profusely, Cinder spoke.

"Now, Emerald, _now_ we know that that team of Roman's thugs are not absolutely loyal to me. _Now_ , we know that they think they can fail and not even realize the full extent of their mistake. _Now_ , we show them the error of their ways." A smirk born of cruelty twisted Cinder's lips. "Call Roman and his brats, I think it's time for a little staff meeting."

* * *

 **Again, sorry for the lateness, but the issues are over now. I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story, you guys are amazing! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **Next Update: 2/3/2019**


	7. Burning Memories

**Welcome to the seventh chapter of Bloodbound! Enjoy!**

* * *

Dawns at Beacon Academy were beautiful, there was no denying it. Rays of splendid gold mixed with a sky shot through with rosy pink, bold red, and gentle purples. The soft wind rustling the leaves of the surrounding wilderness, the brightness of Forever Fall and the Emerald Forest all intermingling with the faint tang of the distant ocean.

It almost made waking up with the sun worth it, though Neo wouldn't mind just a _few_ more minutes of blessed rest, and if Crimson's feeble groans were anything to go by, he was in concurrence. But given the failures of the other night, the thwarted assassination attempt of Blake Belladonna, Ruby had thought it best that they get in the mindset of productivity so that when they received their next assignment, they wouldn't give Cinder a reason to pull their spines out of their mouths.

Or that was how Ruby put it when she woke them all up just as the first light of the sun was shining over the horizon. Frankly, Neo didn't think that waking up at dawn every morning would make them anything but tired.

"Come on, Team RSNC!" Ruby was full of eagerness this morning, zipping around from place to place until the dorm room was filled with drifting rose petals, ready to seize the day. "The whole day is ahead of-OOF!"

Ruby's proclamation was cut short when Crimson threw a pillow at her head before burrowing back under the covers like some nocturnal, giant rodent. After a moment, his voice came drifting out, muffled by blankets and grogginess.

"Shhh, no one talks until I can stand the sight of sunshine."

Throwing the pillow back at the lump, which only replied with a dismal groan, Ruby continued with her morning speech.

" _Anyways_ , we got a busy day ahead of us. First, school here and I got a text from Roman this morning saying that Cinder wants all of us to meet her this evening, we'll get the location when school's over."

The lump on the bed groaned again, sounding very much like the living dead, before speaking.

"Why should I get out of bed when all I have to look forward to is schoolwork, people, and my maybe-execution by the hands of Fall?"

" _If you didn't want to run the risk of being killed, then you shouldn't have failed the assignment,"_ Neo spoke from by the window, her head turned away from the gleaming dawn. _"On the topic of your catastrophe, why DID you fail? Aren't you supposed to be good at your job?"_

Crimson breached the blankets like an angry whale, looking very awake now that his ability had just been called into question. "I am _very_ good at my job, thank you very much! It's not my fault that Faunus have better senses than humans!"

"Belladonna's a Faunus?" Ruby asked before narrowing her eyes. "Which reminds me, how on Remnant do you know so much about her and her ' _lovely_ family'?"

Crimson shifted on his bed, head tipping back as if trying to recall memories of years past. "Right, I promised I would tell you, didn't I? Well, about three years, I was hired to kill Ghira Belladonna and his family. Ghira Belladonna being the chieftain of Menagerie and leader of the White Fang pre-mass insanity. Long story short, I failed, miserably. The first and _only_ time I have ever done so." Crimson shrugged. "After my upper body was healed, I started to gather as much information on the Belladonna family as I could, so the next time I get them as a target, I can kill them." Skyler and Neo watched with slightly-worried eyes at the way Crimson's hands curled into claws. Ruby, however, had another issue pressing against her mind.

"Okay, so wait, you're telling me this is the _second_ time you tried to assassinate a Belladonna and you've _failed_ both times?"

"I have bad luck when it comes to Faunus, okay?!" All of Crimson's manic rage dissipated back into defensive ranting. "They keep noticing me and I have _no_ idea why, _no_ idea at all!" And with that he leaped to his feet and barged into the bathroom, after a minute he came back out and snatched up the bag contained the Beacon uniform from where it hung next to the dorm room door. "There is no guarantee that I'll ever wear this, but shut up in advance."

He closed the bathroom door, still looking vexed. After a moment, Ruby turned to the rest of her team.

"Wow…assassins are kinda overrated."

"Oh, like you street-shankers are _so much_ better!" Crimson's voice was muffled by the door, but offense was still raging out of it. Ruby's mouth gaped open in angry disbelief. _Street-Shanker?!_

"Bite me, freelancer!"

"Bite me first!"

"Well, now we're both just kinky!"

Skyler groaned miserably as his mind, which was much filthier than he had previously thought, began churning up the unwanted mental images. Neo, on the other hand, just watched the growing confrontation with interest, idly wondering when the physical violence would break out.

* * *

Blake Belladonna was not having a good morning.

It was only to be expected really, having survived an assassination attempt made by the hands of the White Fang, the people she once called _family_ , the ones she used to trust with her life. And there they were, trying to end it.

But that was only part of the reason why Blake was not enjoying her morning, a large part, admittedly, but still only part. The other reason was that, ever since last night, her hard-kept secrets were now dangerously close to coming to light.

"Blake…." Ebon Winters, her partner's friend and the person who seemed intent on finding out the truth, began for the umpteenth time. Blake felt her already frayed patience stretch on its last legs and her teeth ground together in an effort not to snap at the other girl. As it was, Blake stopped Ebon's sentence from forming any further.

"For the last time, Ebon, the assassin was _not_ after me! You heard Headmaster Ozpin, the assassin was most likely after Weiss!" A lie on both counts, the assassin was _definitely_ after her, and Ozpin knew that as well, but her plea to keep her past a secret still held his tongue.

Ebon, however, simply raised her eyebrow, not believing anything that was just said. "The assassin who I saw _fighting you_ was after Weiss? Your beds are on opposite sides of the room, Blake. What happened, did he get lost?"

Blake opened her mouth to retort, but a sudden banging on the bathroom door interrupted the argument.

"Ebon, I don't know why you followed Blake into the bathroom, but you guys have been in there forever! So, stop doing whatever weirdness you two are up to and give someone else an opportunity to get in! My hair needs washing!"

"Hang on a minute, Yang," Ebon called back before refocusing her attention on Blake, an unyielding intent in her black eyes. In a much quieter voice, she began speaking. "I know you have secrets and that they're obviously huge and you do not want to share them, but when they start bringing assassins into our dorm room, I think it's time to stop hiding things from the people who only want to help you."

Blake couldn't hold in the snort of disbelief at the words. _Oh yes, I'm sure Weiss SCHNEE would be thrilled to know who she is sharing a dorm room with. I'm sorry, Ebon, but no._ She turned to the door, pausing with her hand on the knob to reply to the other girl.

"I'll protect Weiss from any other attempts on her life, I hope you'll have my back."

She heard a frustrated sigh behind her before Ebon spoke.

"You're a part of my team, Blake, I'll always have your back. I just wish I had your trust."

Blake left the bathroom, stepping aside for an eager Yang, without a replying. Her thoughts churning like a storm-tossed sea and her heart heavy with dread. _I'm not ready for this. I'm not ready to tell them who I am._

* * *

"-and please, stop being lewd. My brain can't take it anymore." Skyler pleaded as Team RSNC left the dorm room in mixed spirts. Mixed because Skyler felt unclean, Ruby felt victorious, Neo felt proud of Ruby's victory, and Crimson felt pain as he nursed the black eye caused by his face's sudden introduction with the edge of the bathroom sink. He did not expect Neo jumping into his fight to aid her crush.

 _Cheating Syndicate members, always ganging up on me._

"No promises there, my friend," Ruby said as she skipped down the empty hall, the noises of habitation still coming from some of the other dorm rooms. "I may not know some things, but I'm not exactly a saint. And Neo and Crimson make landfills look clean in comparison."

"Yes, I am _well_ aware of that fact." Skyler crossed his arms moodily and looked out of the windows they passed, both admiring the view and trying to cleanse his mind of any lasting taint caused by the fight that involved both graphicness and punches. "This team makes me feel dirty."

Ruby rolled her eyes and once again turned her attention to Crimson and his odd choice of dress for the day. He had put on his school uniform (After untucking the shirt and throwing the tie away), but what really stood out was what wasn't there.

Crimson had not done up his hair into the deathhawk he had been practically clinging to ever since Ruby first saw him. The crimson hair just hung loosely around the side of his head, free of products. He hadn't explained why and Ruby did not have anything else better to do except wonder over the reason for the lack of alternative hairstyles.

Well…there was Neo in her school uniform, but those thoughts confused Ruby, so she didn't dwell on them too much. Plus, it made her chest feel really warm for some reason.

Shaking away that line of thinking, Ruby focused back on the present, walking to the wonderful scents of the dining hall with the morning unfolding in its glory outside. Her team sharing the hallway with only a few other students and teams.

Of course, the only other first-year team was Team CRDL, casting them dirty looks from across the hall. Ruby could not spot a single trace of Teams EWBY or JNPR anywhere. Not even as she entered the dining hall.

 _Not surprising though, EWBY had a disguised Crimson Shard break into their room and try to knife one of them and JNPR has Nora in it, so who KNOWS what they're up to._

Ruby finally shrugged away the thought and began piling strawberries onto her plate. _I'm sure they'll show up eventually._

* * *

"A true Hunter is never late! They are either always exactly on time or two weeks early! The Grimm don't care about decorating dorm rooms; they just desire to _eat_ people!"

Ruby impressed by Professor Peter Port's tongue lashing. His class, Grimm Studies, had started before Teams EWBY and JNPR came barreling in, and if Nora's famished look was anything to go by, they did not even have time for breakfast.

 _Why is it that the CRIMINALS are more punctual than the actual students?_ Ruby thought as the two teams took their place in the row below her, thoroughly chastised by the professor.

"Now, pending any other interruption, let us continue with the lecture." Port paused for a moment, his mustache downwards in what the students assumed to be a frown. "Where was I? Ah, yes! When I was a strapping lad in the prime of my youth, I-"

"Do you think that his mustache is sentient?" Crimson whispered, leaning forward on his elbows. "I mean, _look_ at that thing! It _has_ to be alive."

"…of course, the innkeeper was less thrilled about the state of my bedroom, but I smoothed it over by-"

" _Maybe it is some sort of hairy parasite and has taken over the professor's body,"_ Neo suggested as she leaned back in her seat, not even bothering paying attention to the lecture.

"…the wolves came soon after and the forest was filled with the sounds of canine combat!"

"Did you just insinuate that we are being taught by demonic facial hair?" Skyler frowned at the thought, admitting it would make sense why Port was talking about cabbage-smelling old people and his own so-called glorious exploits.

"Excuse me," A hissing voice issued from below where Team RSNC sat. Looking down, Ruby saw an angry Weiss Schnee glaring at them with narrowed glacier-blue eyes.

"I am trying to listen and I cannot do that with your _ridiculous_ chatter in my ear."

"We are talking about very important matters like mustaches, so gladly remove yourself from our conversation," Crimson said grandly, staring down his nose like an aristocrat. The Schnee was not amused, but before she could respond with even more venom, her partner spoke up from beside her.

"Oh, come on, Weiss. It's not like anyone can pay attention in this class. I mean, we're talking right now and Port is completely oblivious." Ebon gestured to the professor who was still going on with his tale. "So, loosen up, relax, grab a cat nap."

Ruby didn't miss the way Blake's shoulders tensed at the other's words. _Well then, I wonder what kind of Faunus YOU are, Belladonna. Maybe that bow isn't all for show after all._

"I will not sleep in class!" Weiss looked she had been slapped, her voice loud with offense. "Of all the disrespectful-"

"Miss Schnee, perhaps you would like to give a demonstration of the lecture, seeing that you are so restless."

Weiss's mouth snapped shut and she turned with wide eyes to see Professor Port staring at her expectedly, the hint of disapproval tainting the air around him. Weiss was about to leap to her own defense when unbidden and unwanted memories rose up like bile in her head, memories filled with the lesson to _always_ obey, no matter what. She bowed her head and stood up.

"Yes, sir."

Unbeknownst to Weiss as she made her way towards the professor, a pair of crimson eyes watched her thoughtfully.

 _So, the entire family has THAT issue? Man, who would have thought that the Schnee kids of all people shared my luck with fathers?_ The Crimson Shard from three years ago certainly didn't, but that was before he got himself a pen pal!

 _I wonder how he's do-oh, Moustache Man just unleashed a Grimm._ Crimson then got a look at the monster below and he made a distressed, high-pitch noise that caused his team to look at him in surprise. _OH GODS, IT'S A PIG! I FREAKING HATE PIGS! SOMEBODY KILL IT!_

Luckily, Weiss was down there with her sword drawn, her stance strong, and her teammates yelling out encouragement.

"Go Weiss!" That was Yang Xiao Long, enthusiastic and eager.

"Fight well!" Blake Belladonna was actually cracking a smile as she waved a small flag with her team name emblazoned upon it.

"Yeah, kick porky's ass!" Ebon cheered only to be met with a fierce glare from her icy partner.

"Quiet, Ebon! I don't need your crash language while I'm trying to focus!"

Ruby shifted in her sight at the harsh tone in the heiress's voice and nudged Skyler. "Never mind the Crimson-Neo partnership, _that_ partnership right there takes the award for worse pairing ever."

Skyler looked at her for a minute before turning to the other two members of his team and their conversation.

"Neo, the pig is still alive. Go help get rid of it!"

" _Get off the floor, Shard, and shut up. I'm trying to watch Schnee avoid becoming Grimm food!"_

Skyler turned back to Ruby. "Worse, yes. Weirdest, _definitely_ not."

"GAH" The sudden sound of Weiss's cry drew their attention again and they looked down to see the Grimm, a Boarbatusk if Ruby was remembering her soulless monsters correctly, barreling down the Schnee with a loud squeal.

"Weiss, go for the belly!" Ebon called out helpfully. "The soft bits! The _soft bits!"_

"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss all but screeched in return, but in exchange for her loss of focus, her sword was ripped from her grasp. Leaving her weaponless against the sharp tusk and ruthlessness of the monstrous swine. Port seemed ecstatic.

"Oh- _ho_ , now what will you do without your weapon?"

"Weiss!" Ebon tried again. "There is no armor on its belly, go stick something sharp into it!"

"WILL YOU STOP TALKING!" Weiss dove for her weapon as the Grimm started spinning like a devilish top and _hurled_ itself forward towards the student. But Weiss was still a huntress-in-training and as soon as she grasped her sword, a glyph appeared in front of the spinning Grimm, stopping it dead in its tracks.

It was soon _just_ dead as Weiss activate more glyphs to aide her in driving her blade into the monster's soft belly. As she stood panting, Port started clapping in celebration of the kill.

"Bravo, _bravo_! Truly remarkable, Miss Schnee! But I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay _vigilant_! Class dismissed!"

The heiress nodded stiffly before storming out of the room, Ebon hurrying to catch up and stuff papers back into her school back as she called out to her partner.

"Weiss! Weiss, hey, wait!"

Team RSNC watched them go and Crimson shook his head.

"Sheesh, not even one week in and the drama is _already_ off the charts." He watched the doorway for a minute, not really seeing the students filing out of it, before shrugging. "Meh, I'm sure those two will work it out. That, or they'll kill each other. _That_ would be entertaining!"

Neo leveled a hard look at her partner. _"Keep risking our cover with your big, unfiltered, mouth and I'll rip off your hands and strangle you to death with them."_

"Ah, I remember when Skyler threatened to do that when we first met, sweat memories, am I right?"

Ruby clapped her hands to regain the two's attention. "Neo, stop threaten to kill people, you're also right. Crimson, shut up."

"Jerk."

"Whatever." The team leader turned back to Skyler. "So, what's our next class?"

"No idea, but I hope it's 'How to get through Beacon Academy without losing your Sanity 101'." He paused and then reconsidered. "That, or world history, I heard Beacon's history professor is _fantastic_."

Crimson crossed his arms and looked skeptical. "Does he release the animated corpses of historical figures for his students to fight?"

"Um…no?"

"Well, then learning about dead people and their mistakes just got a whole lot less interesting. The least the professor could have done is take a page out of Port's book. No more pigs, though." Crimson shuddered. "I freakin' hate pigs. They're creepy."

Skyler looked like he wanted to respond, thought better of it, and just pushed past the strange thing that was his teammate with his eyes screwed shut. "Let's just go to class, please, and keep the weird nonsense and pig-phobia to a minimal."

* * *

"That was singly the most arduous, annoying, and school-filled day of my life." Crimson groaned as he face-planted into his bed, his legs hanging off of the end as the rest of his team bustled around him, looking incredibly unsympathetic. The glare of the setting sun filtering through the window.

"Get up, Crimson, we have a meeting with Cinder. I got the location and Roman said we should leave immediately. Apparently, she's in a _mood_." Ruby emphasized the last word as a warning to _why_ Cinder Fall might be upset and _who_ it might just be to get the full brunt of her wrath.

The assassin groaned but slowly slid off the bed like some sort of lazy serpent, rising to his feet and making his way to where he stashed his bag by the bathroom door, mumbling something about being too tired to put up with meeting the 'new boss'. Ruby choose not to say, once again, that Cinder was _not_ their new boss.

As soon as Crimson was out of the bathroom, hair still loose around his head and trench coat back its proper place around his body, Team RSNC strolled out the door like they were just normal teenagers out for a night on Vale and down to the air docks where they would either be taken to just another underworld meeting or to their messy demise.

Frankly, Ruby had no idea.

xXx

The meeting place was a dilapidated apartment complex that had seen better days approximately seventy years ago, Ruby and her team stuck out like a sore thumb as they stood in front of the near-ruin, looking for a sign of a trap. But all was quiet under a light-polluted night sky and Ruby knew that standing outside was not going to make the meeting go any faster.

"Alright, let's go." Ruby strode forward, pushing aside the doors that lead into the front lobby and hearing them crash to the floor behind her.

"I do not think this building is up to code," Crimson said as he nudged the broken door with his boot. "Place is practically a death trap waiting to happen."

"It is remarkable how accurate that statement is." A male voice said from deeper within the shadows and two figures appeared out of the gloom.

"Mercury and Emerald." Ruby raised a single eyebrow. "What are you doing out? Aren't you two supposed to lurk threateningly behind your boss?"

Emerald sneered, her red eyes bright with contempt. "Big words coming from a wetboy."

"You're awfully mouthy for a henchman." Ruby felt her eyes narrowed as she and the rival criminal attempted to stare each other down before Mercury's scoff cut through the tension.

"Rose, do you really think insulting us is a good idea given your current _situation_?"

"Children, do stop fighting." A voice that Ruby instantly recognized cut through the gloom. "We are here for a reason."

Slow footsteps sounded and, out of the shadows like some sort of wraith, stepped Cinder Fall, dressed like she was out for a night among the rich and powerful and not meeting criminals in some termite-infested devastation.

From the corner of her eye, Ruby saw Neo trying to resist the urge to spit. Concern for the smaller girl's wellbeing, however, made Ruby cut in before temptation proves to be too strong.

"Where's Roman? He said this was some sort of meeting, why isn't he here?" She held her arms ready at her side, in case Cinder's answer proved to be dangerous for them all.

"I'm afraid Roman will not be making it; a job came up suddenly that simply _had_ to be done." Cinder took her normal place between Mercury and Emerald, a smile on her lips. "But you're in luck, this meeting does not require his presence."

Cinder strode forward, causing Ruby's hand to twitch almost unwittingly towards her weapon sling. It didn't help when Cinder stopped right in front of her, her eyes full of amusement and the hints something much darker lurking amidst the gold of the irises. Ruby felt adrenaline began to surge through her veins and her hand inched closer to Crescent Rose.

Trust was low tonight, and suspicion was so prevalent one could practically smell it.

"Why are we here, Cinder." Ruby stared into the taller woman's eyes, not giving ground to intimidation and fear. Beside her, Neo gripped the handle of her parasol, mismatched eyes glaring at Cinder.

"Don't play stupid, Ruby." The darker emotion was growing in Cinder's eyes. "You know why I brought your team here, you failed. Your _first_ assignment and you failed."

" _So what?"_ Neo couldn't hold back her anger anymore. _"We failed to kill some ex-Fanger, big deal! That does not mean you can drag us all here and threaten us! Threaten Ruby!"_

"That 'ex-Fanger' as you so eloquently put it was the past lover of Adam Taurus." Cinder's smile looked like it was about to melt off. "Her death at the hands of Beacon, better yet if she was revealed to be a Faunus, would have ensured that fanatic's part of the plan." Cinder leaned forward, closer to the two girls. "I don't like leaving things to chance, that was the reason I sent you on this assignment."

"But that's not the point." Cinder's smile flickered back to life, and she cupped Ruby's check in one hand, ignoring Neo's growl. "Tonight is going to be very informative for us all."

Standing tall again, Cinder looked at the four members of Team RSNC and pursed her lips.

"I am not, however, without mercy. Though you as the leader still take a part of the blame, Ruby, you are not the one who truly deserves to suffer."

She began walking down the line of RSNC members, passing Neo. "Neither are you."

Golden eyes glanced at Skyler as the clink of glass heels filled the old building. "Nor you."

Finally, Cinder stood still in front of Crimson Shard, who gazed back with wide eyes, as he was a deer faced with a hungry panther. Cinder looked at him and her smile turned cruel.

"So you are the assassin Crimson Shard, the one who failed to kill the Belladonna girl."

"I-" Crimson closed his eyes and shallowed, when he looked back into Cinder's eyes, he was more steady. "I told you already, things went wrong and I did the best thing possible in the situation. This wasn't a big operation though, I heard your reason, Belladonna not dying shouldn't stop whatever you have planned."

Cinder did not appear to be paying attention, she was looking thoughtfully at the floor and tapping her index finger against her chin.

"You did the best thing possible." She murmured. "The best thing possible being running away?"

"It beats dying," Crimson replied, shifting in place. Cinder nodded absently.

"I hope to change your mind on that." And with a snap of her fingers, glyphs of fire _burned_ into existence up and down the assassin's body. With a cry of pain and shock, Crimson dropped to his knees, hands clawing at his own skin as the marks of infernos rapidly ate away at his aura, hungry for his flesh.

" _Leave him alone!"_ Neo's face transformed into a twisted mask of fury and she leaped at the taller woman only to be stopped when a gleaming blade of obsidian suddenly appeared in Cinder's hand, its razor-point resting upon Neo's throat.

"This is a punishment," Cinder spoke as if there was not a boy gasping with frantic breaths at her feet. "Not an execution, your friend will live." As if to prove her point, Cinder snapped her fingers again and the glyphs vanished, leaving the scent of burnt leather behind.

The blade still in hand, she knelt down and pinched Crimson's chin in-between her thumb and forefinger, lifting his head so that their eyes met. Cinder's curious and wondering while Crimson looked back with fear and, more strangely, denial.

"I-I'm _sorry_!" Crimson gasped out as he looked at Cinder. "I won't make you ma-" He cut himself off and took a shudderingly breath. "I won't fail again, I _promise_."

Cinder smiled faintly. "Let's hope you are a man of your word."

She left him on the floor as she rose back to her feet, twirling her blade idly in her hand as she gazed upon the other three members of RSNC, who gazed back with wary and hateful eyes. Cinder looked at them in silence for a moment longer before speaking.

"You do _not_ fail again, understood? Or _this_ …" She gestured to the still shaking Crimson. "Will seem like child's play." She smiled at Ruby's stiff nod. "Good. Now, run along, it's nearly past Beacon's curfew."

Skyler and Neo helped Crimson to his feet, his eyes still lost and unseeing of the present, and with Ruby taking up the rear (Her silver eyes still boring into Cinder and her lackeys), they quickly left the rotting building and disappeared back into the streets of Vale.

Cinder watched them go, her smile still on her face. _Let the games began, Ruby. Let's see how far you are willing to go._

xXx

 _Five hours later, Team RSNC's dorm room…_

Ruby awoke to a strange sound.

Rolling over, she looked in confusion across the darkened room, seeing the sleeping forms of Neo in the bed next to her and Skyler right beyond her, his gentle snores loud enough to almost mask the unfamiliar noise.

 _But what's-_ Ruby felt herself go still as her eyes looked at Crimson's bed. It was empty. _Where's Crimson?_

Looking around the dorm room, Ruby could not see any tell-tale glow of light, but the bathroom door was firmly shut, something Ruby didn't remember it being when she went to bed. Her curiosity burning bright, Ruby crawled out from under her covers.

Her feet touching the thin carpet, Ruby silently crept across the space separating her bed from the bathroom door and pressed her eye to the wooden surface. What she heard made her breath catch in her throat.

It was Crimson…

…and he was crying.

* * *

 **Everything in this chapter that is weird and unexplained will not be for long. Well, it might still be a little weird, but at least it will make sense. Anyways, thank you for taking the time to read this and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **Next update: 2/10/2019**


	8. I'm Fine pt: 1

**Hello! Welcome to the eighth chapter of Bloodbound! Enjoy!**

* * *

Crimson was _fine_. Really. Even though Ruby kept casting him looks that he didn't necessarily like (There was far too much pity and questions in them, and _that_ was a dangerous combination.), Crimson was _perfectly_ fine.

He was even making good on a promise! He was taking use of the student kitchen and making eclairs to Nora Valkyrie-though she called them chocolate pastries-and _humming_ while he did so! Granted, it was a song by Grimm Sex Devil, but that didn't matter; humming equaled being fine in Crimson's book.

Ruby, however, had different opinions.

"Sooooo…Crimson." Ruby said from next to him, hands clasped behind her back, as Crimson used a pastry bag to lay out lengths of dough on a pan. "Making pastries?"

"Yep." He glanced at his leader and noticed she wasn't paying attention to his work, but solely on him. "Nora _did_ threaten to hunt me down if I didn't."

"True. But you're up really early, I thought you viewed mornings as something evil." Ruby gestured with a hand towards the oven clock, which was _just_ past six. Crimson shrugged, ignoring how tense his muscle still were.

 _It must be from bending over the kitchen counter._ He decided, he was _fine_ , after all.

"I wasn't very tired and eclairs take a while to make," He put aside the pastry back and turned to look fully at Ruby. "And you don't care about making small talk, what's up?"

Ruby scratched the back of her head self-consciously. "Well, um, how are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"But, I mean, what happened last night…"

"Still fine."

"I really don't think you are." Ruby seemed to take a deep breath as if steeling herself for something. "Because I heard-"

"Ruby, listen to me," Crimson snapped, his tone sharp and cold. "I. Am. _Fine_! There is _nothing_ wrong with me! Last night hurt like the Hells, but it's over and I'm fine now!"

He turned back to his baking, seemingly intent on ignoring Ruby until she left him alone again. And without any other ideas on how to get him to admit that he was definitely _not_ fine, she cast him one last concerned look and exited the kitchen, leaving the room and Crimson with his thoughts.

He looked at the pan of dough before him, frowning as if it was all wrong, that all his hard work was for nothing, before shaking his head and getting back at it. _Nora would be sad if I didn't get these done._

* * *

" _That monstrosity is seventy-percent chocolate, I thought you said these things were pastries?"_

"They _are_ pastries! I just took a creative and unhealthy license with them. And they're all the better for it! Right, Nora?"

"Mm-hmm!"

"See, Nora agrees."

Neo rolled her eyes and turned away from the sight of her partner and Nora Valkyrie and stuffing their faces with the eclairs Crimson made earlier in the morning. The buzz of chatter washed over her ears as golden sunlight flowed through the window, illuminating the table she shared with her team and Teams JNPR and EWBY (Apparently, they were making friends with JNPR while RSNC was trying to find ways to stab Belladonna in the face.).

But that assignment was in the past, and no longer important to Neo. What _was_ important was that Nora's much quieter friend, Lie Ren, was flickering his gaze from RSNC member to RSNC member with a thoughtful look in his eyes. A look that made the more paranoid side of Neo boil and rage that he was onto them and they either needed to run or take him out.

Thankfully, Ruby noticed Ren's looks as well and what they were doing to Neo's mindset, and she placed a comforting hand over the much smaller one of her tri-colored companion. Thought no words passed between them, Neo felt her tense muscles relax and the bloodlust in her veins slowly fade out.

 _I both love and hate the fact that she can do this to me._ Before Neo had a chance to do anything else (Like stare down Ren in a battle for dominance), Jaune Arc, leader of Team JNPR and the legendary Flirt-Tastic, asked a question that made Neo want to simultaneously face-palm and make a break for it through a window.

"Hey, Blake, how goes the search for the assassin?"

Neo felt herself stiffen, in fact, she thought she could feel her entire team stiffen at the question that really made her wonder if the Arc had any sort of social grace at _all_. _At least, we'll see if anyone is on to us._

Blake Belladonna, who up till the question had just been sitting quietly at the end of the table reading, looked up at Jaune and shook her head, all the other conversations between the teams dying off in favor of the talk of _that_ night.

"No," Blake set her book down on the smooth surface of the wooden table. "Beacon and even the VPD have been looking for them, but it's like he vanished into thin air." She bit down on the last part of her sentence. _Like all White Fang assassins are trained to do._

Neo, meanwhile, had to bite down on a derisive snort. _They brought the cops into it? No wonder they can't find anything!_

"What was a White Fang operative doing in Beacon anyways?" Ruby sounded perfectly innocent and confused as she asked the question, glancing up and down the table as if searching for the answer. She got it from an unexpected source.

"He was after me," Weiss Schnee's lip curled ever so slightly. "Those monsters have been after my company and my family for years, they must be getting desperate if they are coming here."

Neo caught the look that Blake give her teammate, the hint of ugliness in her eyes. _Man, with Schnee insulting her partner yesterday and now THIS, the heiress certainly isn't making any friends._

Neo was not the only one to catch Blake's look, however, Yang caught the hardness of her partner's eyes and quickly moved on from the "White Fang" topic.

"Whatever the reason, _we_ fought him off." She said proudly, slinging an arm around Ebon's shoulders and casting a look at Blake. "Which reminds me, how did you know the guy was there? Because I was fast asleep until I heard the fighting."

Neo leaned forward, just slightly, but enough to betray her burning curiosity at the question to anyone who was watching. Blake furrowed her brows and actually looked puzzled as she answered.

"I smelled something," Blake said slowly as if recalling her memories of _that_ night. "It was faint, but it was enough to save my life."

"What was it?" Ruby asked, sounding as curious as Neo felt. Blake shrugged.

"Hairspray." She said simply.

xXx

"I'm going to kill him," Skyler said thoughtfully as they walked to their second class of the day, combat lead by Glynda Goodwitch. Team RSNC had spent the first period in a glaring silence as they all processed the information Belladonna had revealed. Admittedly, the majority of that silence could be credited to all of them (Sans Crimson) digesting the fact that Crimson Shard, previously known as a _professional_ killer, had been undone by his _hair_.

 _Well, it explains why he keeps having bad luck with Faunus…as weird as smelling his hairspray is._ Ruby thought to herself as she cast a quick glance at Crimson who was walking beside Skyler with a very offended look on his face, his hair still loose and product free.

" _No, you aren't going to kill him."_ Neo seethed, finally allowing her true emotions to shine through as they were the only ones in the hallway. _"He's my partner, so I'M going to kill him!"_

"I am right here, you know." Crimson crossed his arms across his chest. "So, the least you can do is acknowledge my existence while you're debating who gets to kill me."

Neo stopped dead in her tracks before whirling around to level a burning glare towards Crimson. _"Ruby, Skyler, you two go on ahead. I'm going to ACKNOWLEDGE my partner's existence."_

"I leave him in her capable hands, Ms. Neo." Skyler gave a cheerful wave before walking down the hallway and turning a corner, disappearing from view. Ruby lingered for a moment, casting a concerned look between Neo and Crimson before falling her partner's path, leaving a parting comment as she went.

"Be _nice_ , Neo."

Neo didn't take her eyes off Crimson as she answered. _"Relatively to what has BEEN happening, I'm about to be the sweetest thing he has ever laid eyes on."_

Once the hallway as silent except for the sounds of hushed breathing, Neo stepped closer to Crimson and looked up into his face. Her eyes _burrowing_ into his. Finally, Crimson decided to break the figurative bone-chilling ice.

"So…you're mad. I get that."

 _WHACK_

Neo replied in a way that articulated her point in a very direct and brunt kind of way. She hit him in the head with Deadly Elegance.

" _MAD does not even BEGIN to cover what I'm feeling right now!"_ Neo eyes became a storming sea of flashing color as her fury grew. _"Everything that happened, Cinder and everything she did, was all caused your own stupidity! You failed because of your ridiculous vanity!"_

"First of all, lay off my hair, it has feelings too and its feeling very _down_ at the moment." He smiled faintly as Neo's eye narrowed. "But being serious now, I realized I made a mistake and I think we can all agree that I _paid_ for it. However, I'm trying to fix it." He pointed to his hair. "No products until things die down a bit and now that the shameful secret of my Faunus issue is out, there's no point in me making the same mistake again. Happy?"

Neo's eyes were silts at this point but she slowly backed up and gestured for them to continue their way to class. After several moments of silence, the shortest partner looked back up at her much taller counterpart.

" _When we get to Goodwitch's class, we are going to spar."_ Neo raised her parasol and rested it on her shoulder. _"Depending on how many bones I break; I might forgive you."_

Crimson sighed dramatically. "Oh, if that's the case, then I'm _never_ going to have your forgiveness!"

* * *

Neo gazed Crimson with steady eyes as he grinned back from across the ring, Goodwitch stood off to the side and watched them impassively.

"Began!"

Crimson rocketed forward, cleavers in hand and already whirling like bladed mirrors, the individual sounds of his footfalls blurring together as Neo met him halfway and Dust-infused fabric met steel blades with a clash like sharp thunder.

And the shattering of glass filled the arena as the image of Neo shattered into a thousand pieces.

"That's not very sportsman-like!" Crimson called into thin air, his excited smile betraying his words. "Why don't you come out and give the nice people sitting in the stands a show?"

Neo spun back into view almost before he was done speaking and lashed out with dozens of lighting-flash blows all aimed at his knees and stomach. Crimson matched each strike with one of his own, spinning both cleavers as he blocked the parasol from bludgeoning away his aura.

 _This fight has gone on for ten seconds too long._ Crimson leaned back to avoid a partially vicious swung from Neo. _Time to end this before someone other than me gets the upper hand._

Disengaging from the melee, Crimson leaped away from Neo and, for a brief moment, a gold light seemed to shine from his veins. Neo felt a strange feeling come over her, a feeling like a freezing breeze on a winter day.

Shaking off the feeling, Neo narrowed her eyes at the sight of Crimson gesturing with a single finger to come and get him. Growling, she charged forward…

…only to fall as the heel of her boot snapped in half and stumbling forward into the edge of a cleaver. Only Neo wasn't some idiot hunter-in-training, she learned to fight in the streets and the darkness of Vale, it would take more than a broken heel to put her out of the fight. All this did was corner her and _that_ was Crimson's first mistake.

The second mistake was being so much taller than Neo, so it was _hardly_ her fault when she snapped out her parasol spike and stabbed it into Crimson groin just as his cleaver made contact with her neck.

The noises that were made were not manly noises, but who was Neo to judge? If she was actually physically able to make noises that did not sound like she was gargling gravel, she would be groaning dismally in pain. Crimson was not one to hold back.

"Ms. Sorbet, Mr. Shard…" Goodwitch looked out over her two students. One was sitting outside the ring, clutching her neck in pain while the other was in a fetal position with his face pressed against the stone of the sparring ring. "Would you like to call the match a draw?"

" _I can still fight."_ Neo jumped to her feet…before clutching her neck as if someone had driven a red-hot-needle into it. _"Not well, admittedly, but Squeaky over there is not going to be much of a challenge."_

Crimson made a noise that only did justice to his new nickname. Goodwitch took it to mean that, yes, he would like to call the match a draw. The instructor sighed.

"The match is a draw. Ms. Sorbet, please help your partner to either his seat or the infirmary, whichever he needs." Ignoring the girl's annoyed huff, Goodwitch turned to the rest of her class.

"Remember, students, your aura will only protect you from attack you are prepared for, as is shown perfectly with the unfortunate case of Mr. Shard. You _must_ stay vigilant." She adjusted her glasses. "Now, for our next match, will Mr. Winchester and Mr. Arc come to the ring."

As the two current fighters made their way into the sparring ring, Winchester with a swagger and Jaune looking determined yet resigned, as if he already knew the outcome of the match's outcome, Neo and Crimson made their way towards where the rest of their team were sitting.

Before they took their places, however, Neo paused and looked up at Crimson whose waist she had a small arm wrapped. Crimson looked back at her, eyebrow raised and face still wincing in pain at every slight motion.

" _I forgive you, Zombie Boy."_ She said finally. Her partner rolled his eyes, even though a small smile formed on his lips. When he spoke, his voice held actual words instead of defeated sounds of pain.

"Oh, thank the Gods. It only took my castration to earn it."

Neo snorted, an answering smile on her lips. _"Come on, Ruby is going to explode if she doesn't give us a recreation of our match and Skyler looks like he is going to be sick."_

"Wow, I wonder why." Crimson shifted his hips and could barely hide his grimace. "Ow. First, my aura doesn't block the attack and now it's taking forever to heal. This week has not been kind."

Neo had to agree there. The last couple of days had seemed to have a bone to pick with the assassin. _"Look on the bright side, at least, we'll get to sit back and watch what some actual huntsmen-in-training can do!"_

* * *

Actual huntsmen-in-training were overrated. Team RSNC had come to that conclusion in watching the long, boring, and very one-sided spar between Cardin and Jaune.

It was like watching a noodle with arms trying to hit a large, slow rock with a budding sadistic streak. Ruby had even started calling out advice until Goodwitch paused the match to tell her to stop this instant or she would find herself with _more_ detention than she already had. Ruby had decided to stop talking after that in favor of critiquing the entire match in her head. A critique she shared with her teammates as soon as combat class as over.

"…and why wasn't Jaune using his mobility! Winchester is heavily armored, nearly twice as big, and wields a mace that is probably heavier than Jaune!" The team leader threw up her arms in disbelief over the match, Neo just patted her sympathetically on the shoulder. "Thanks, Neo."

" _Anytime."_ Neo looked around the dining hall where they had arrived in search of lunch. Crimson had fully healed from what he dubbed the 'Surprise Erotic Acupuncture Incident' much to everyone's displeasure and Skyler no longer looked like he was going to vomit in second-hand pain. Neo sighed. _And the day is not even half-over, please let the rest of it be normal!_

Of course, when Neo saw that Ruby was leading them to where Teams EWBY and JNPR had claimed a table, she knew her plea had been in vain. _Nothing normal happens around those people, I've only been here for four days, and I already know that nothing normal happens around those people. It's like an instinct._

Instinct or not, when Ruby took a seat across from Yang Xiao Long, Neo had no choice but to follow her lead. Crimson and Skyler taking spots further down the table. Beside her, Nora was spinning a tale of her and Ren's glorious exploits with Ren correcting her after every sentence.

"But they were no match... And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!"

Neo cocked her head. And the correction for that sentence would be…

"She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now." Came Ren's tired sigh.

Neo snorted. Yeah, that sounded about right. Well, at least, the quiet youth was watching her team with that thoughtful look in his eyes anymore. Suddenly, a cold feeling went down Neo's back. _Of course, that could just mean he has already got all the information he needed and now we're all screwed and-_

Once again, the comforting feeling of Ruby's hand on her leg tied her back down to reality and shoved away the anxiety-riddled thoughts. The two shared a smile before a sudden question caused the two to look back towards the others.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha Nikos asked, looking concerned, who Ruby finally recognize thanks to her weapon and Skyler's fangirling when he thought no one was watching (Of course, the entire team saw the display, but they were not going to tell him that). "Are you okay?"

Jaune, who up till then had been digging through his food like trying to find the meaning of life, snapped his head up. "Huh? Oh, yeah! Why?"

He sounded like he knew _exactly_ why.

"Well, VB…" Ebon looked uncomfortable as she said the next part of her sentence. "It's just Cardin knocked your books out of your hands, trapped you in a doorway with your own shield, and shoved you inside a rocket locker and launched it into the mountains…and that was just yesterday."

Jaune rolled his eyes. "Cardin's a jerk, what can I say?" Seeing no one was convinced, he plastered own a painfully fake smile and tried again. "Guys, I'm fine. Seriously! Look!" He held a thumbs up in his face like it would make anyone feel better.

However, before anyone could say "Stop denying the obvious truth, Jaune.", a commotion broke through their conversation and the three teams turned to see Team CRDL in the process of mocking a Faunus student, the girl's rabbit ears wilting at their words and jeers.

Skyler suddenly became very still and an ugly look flashed before his eyes as everyone else turned back to their own conversation. Pyrrha reached out to lay her hand on top of Jaune's.

"Jaune, you know, if you ever need help, all you need to do is ask."

"OH! I know!" Nora hopped up onto the table with a wide grin. "We'll break his legs!"

Most of Team RSNC nodded (Skyler was as still as ice), they approved of that idea. Jaune, being probably –most definitely- more moral than them, just held out his hands in an effort to calm his friends.

"Guys, it's _okay_. Really, it's _fine_. Besides, it's like I said before, Cardin's not just a jerk to me, he's a jerk to everyone!"

As if to prove his point without a shadow of the doubt, a sudden cry of pain revealed Cardin was pulling harshly on the Faunus girl's ears, jeering at her alongside his team.

"See, I told you they were real."

"What a _freak_."

" _Please_ stop!" The girl cried out. "That _hurts_!"

"Absolutely atrocious," Pyrrha muttered, a heavy glare on her face. "I can't _stand_ people like him!"

"Well, _obviously_ …" Skyler slammed his palms on the table as he stood up, surprising everyone with the pure fury in his voice. "You can't hate him that much as you are currently sitting here doing _nothing_!"

And with that, he marched off, right toward CRDL and their victim. His hands unlooping Timelash from her place across his vest.

"Excuse me, brutish troglodyte?" He inquired as stood behind Cardin whose hand was still clamped around the other student's ears. As soon as the taller student laid eyes on Skyler, his face turned purple in rage and he spat out a word coated with hatred.

" _You_!"

"Yes, me. Surprise." Skyler rolled his eyes. "And did you literally answer to brutish troglodyte? No, wait, don't answer that." He slammed his hand upwards and smashed the watch end of Timelash into the bully's chin. "I have better things to do anyway."

In one deft motion, Timelash's chain had reached hungrily out Team CRDL, their aura lighting up in streaks as the hundreds of linked blades carved across their body. Then Crimson tackled them, ignoring the razor chain that whipped across his body.

"I was prepared this time! He shouted triumphantly as he brought the three lesser members of Team CRDL to the floor in a mess of limbs and pained shouts. Skyler rolled his eyes again at his teammate's sudden appearance and turned his attention back to the main bully himself.

Cardin Winchester, his aura healing a black bruise under his chin and _rage_ on his face. The thief stared back impassively.

"You'll _pay_ for-" Cardin's angry sputtering were cut off as Skyler slapped him across the face with Tmelash once again, sending the _hunter_ -in-training back down to the floor once again.

"Yes, yes, I'm _sure_ I will pay dearly." Skyler sent one last dirty look at Cardin's sprawled form before turning to the bully's victim, offering a small bow as he did so.

"My name is Skyler Snow, my deepest apologies for the barbaric actions of my fellow humans." He gestured to where Crimson appeared to be doing some sort of violent Riverdance on the bodies of Team CRDL. "That's Crimson Shard, my teammate. He's…weird. I apologize for his actions too."

The girl tore her gaze away from Crimson (Skyler could relate) and looked back at him with wide, brown eyes.

"Why?" She asked, her voice soaked in honest confusion. "Why did you help me? You don't even know me."

Skyler shrugged. "Why shouldn't I have helped you? You needed it and that's the only reason I care about."

The girl stared at him for a moment, before shaking her head as if to clear it and stammering out an apology.

"I-I'm sorry, I should've have introduced myself. I'm Velvet Scarlatina, member of Team CVFY." She held out her hand and Skyler took it with a faint smile.

"Nice to meet you, Ms-"

"What happened here?!" Goodwitch's shout reverberated off the walls and all other talking in the dining hall ceased, Skyler screwed his eyes shut.

"Forgot I was in a _school_." He muttered. "Crimson, get ready to run. I am _not_ getting stuck with more detention."

Crimson, who was trying to look like an innocent angel while standing on top of CRDL's bruised bodies, merely nodded, too busy whistling to give a verbal answer. When Goodwitch's furious footsteps become loud enough to make Skyler's heart quake, he turned to look up at the angriest human being he had ever seen in his life.

"Ah, professor, fancy meeting you here!" He gave a toothy smile. "Lovely day, no?"

"Mr. Snow." Goodwitch grounded out between gritted teeth. "Please, explain to me why Team CRDL is _once again_ lying unconscious at your feet?"

Skyler was about to launch into a perfectly responsible story when Velvet stepped forward to face Goodwitch.

"It's really my fault, professor, I spilled my lunch tray and the resulting mess was catastrophic! Crimson is just lucky he landed on top of the mess, but I think Team CRDL are _really_ hurt and should probably be sent straight to the infirmary."

Velvet's eyes were so wide and so innocent that even Crimson was swayed into believing her for a moment until he remembered he was the one who beat up the team in the first place. _How was this girl being bullied again? How could someone even THINK about bullying her?_

If Goodwitch had been elsewhere, Crimson would have started stomping on the group of bullies.

The Huntress stared incredulously at Velvet, looked to Crimson who was now clutching his head and looking confused (He always liked acting!), and then reverted her gaze. Taking a deep breath, Goodwitch spoke, her voice holding hints of defeat.

"Very well, Ms. Scarlatina, if there is _anything_ else you like to tell me, I'll be in my office."

And with that, she levitated the four members of Team CRDL (Dumping Crimson to the ground with a yelp), all of whom were groaning feebly, off the ground and out of the cafeteria. Not a word of truth was spoken in the entire room. As soon as Goodwitch was out of sight, the dining hall exploded into chatter.

"How did you manage _that_?" Skyler actually looked awed as he looked to Velvet who blushed slightly at the sheer wonder in his voice.

"Professor Goodwitch…all the professors, actually, have always liked me. I'm a model student and I'm kinda known for avoiding violent situations with people, so no one expects me to be in the middle of a brawl." Velvet blushed again. "This is the first time I've taken advantage of it."

"Oh, trust me," Crimson popped up beside his teammate like a leather-clad jack-in-the-box. "All that is only _part_ of the reason we just got away with our lives. Velvet," He looked at the huntress-in-training. "You're absolutely adorable and people stand no chance against it, you could become ruler of Vale just with your bunny ears alone."

"I-I mean, that's…thank you?" She managed weakly, her face aflame. She did not handle compliments well, okay! Skyler smacked the back of his teammate's head.

"Don't make Ms. Scarlatina uncomfortable, Zombie Boy." Seeing Velvet's confusion, he clarified on the odd title. "That's his nickname."

"Oh." The student shuffled her feet awkwardly. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you two around?"

"Of course!" Skyler looked scandalized by the very thought of _not_ seeing her again. "It would be weird if we weren't at least a _little_ friendly after breaking Winchester's jaw."

Velvet couldn't help the small snort of laughter that slipped past her lips. She looked up, mortified, but the two humans just smiled.

"Yeah, you're cool." Crimson grinned. "And remember, if they come back, aim for their testicles. Trust me, it takes a man _out_."

Skyler closed his eyes briefly and counted to ten before speaking. "Ms. Scarlatina, please ignore him. He's crazy, was raised by wild sewer rats, and speaks his mind which is warped beyond belief."

Crimson snorted. "Rude."

"It's okay." She said quickly. "It's…good advice, to be honest. And please, call me Velvet."

Skyler nodded. "Well then, Velvet, I see you around."

As they turned to walk back to their table (Crimson giving a wide wave), the Faunus stepped forward.

"Skyler? Crimson?" The two turned their heads and Velvet looked back at them steadily. "Thank you, for helping me."

"Don't mention it." Skyler gestured with a gloved hand. "And if you ever need help again, give us a shout and we'll be there."

At Velvet's smile and nod, the RSNC members turned back to their own table. Expecting to return to lunch, maybe answer a few questions on why they sent an entire team to the infirmary (They thought the answer was fairly obvious, but one could never tell with hunters-in-training), and then go off to listen to Oobleck spit off his lectures at nearly the speed of light.

However, what they saw at their table was a bit more…violent than usual.

Blake Belladonna was holding Neo by the collar of her uniform, her amber eyes glaring murder at the shorter girl who was baring her teeth in fury. Both had cutlery knives clutched in their hands and jammed near the other's throat.

Skyler stared for a moment before spluttering. "Why is everyone so violent today? I thought this was a school, not a gladiator arena!"

"Didn't we just beat the-"

"Shut up, Zombie Boy!"

* * *

 **This chapter was supposed to cover the entire Jaundice arc, but things got lengthy, so I decided to chop it up into smaller parts. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **Next Update: 2/17/2019**


	9. I'm Fine pt: 2

**I am sorry for the wait, but my computer crashed because it is a hateful piece of human-loathing technology and my documents for this chapter went down with it. And as you might be able to tell, this wasn't necessarily a short and easy chapter to write. But things are fixed now and here's the new chapter of Bloodbound! Enjoy!**

* * *

In summary, Crimson Shard and Skyler Snow had just come back from beating Team CRDL up (For the second time.), only to find Blake Belladonna and Neopolitan Sorbet (Yes, the last name is fake and yes, Neo had to stab Crimson to get him to stop calling her 'Queen Ice-Cream Person' every time he addressed her.) at each other's throats (Literally, they had knives)

Why were the two threatening each other? Well, that's what you are here to find out, right?

* * *

 _Teams RSNC, EWBY, and JNPR's lunch table, just after Skyler left to go save Velvet from being bullied…._

"Ruby?" Yang watched as Skyler stalked towards where Team CRDL where they were piling their trade of intimidation and cruelty, his ignited rage sending adrenaline into her veins. "Is he about to go do what I think he's about to go do."

"If you think he is about to go and beat CRDL into the ground," Ruby took a sip of her drink. "Then you would be correct."

"Ooh," Nora bounced in her seat. "Is Snowball going to break their legs?"

"That-" The sounds of metal hitting skin and combat breaking out interrupted Ruby and she had to raise her voice to be heard over the sounds of her teammate breaking Cardin's jaw. "Is a very distinct possibility."

"Really? Well then, I don't know about you lot, but I'm going to go rescue that fair damsel and, also, the Faunus. I'll be back." Crimson leaped to his feet and charged towards the group, Ruby looked remarkable unconcerned as the sound of bodies hitting stone filled the dining hall. Some students were cheering now.

"I'm sure this is breaking the school's rules…" Pyrrha looked conflicted. On one hand, the bullied student was now safe while on the other, she did not necessarily mean for Team CRDL to get trampled so thoroughly. In the sparring ring, sure, Pyrrha herself would have happily beaten them into the dust, but during the middle of lunch, it just seemed a bit delinquent.

As if sensing her thoughts, Ruby turned to the taller girl. "The sooner you accept that those two couldn't care less about Beacon and its rules, the fewer headaches you'll get."

"Why are they here then?" Weiss frowned at the sight of Crimson standing on top of a pile of squirming bodies. "If they do not care about Beacon, why are they training to be Hunters here?"

 _They're actually not. One is a thief in the employment of a criminal mafia while the other is an assassin that kills for the highest bidder._ Ruby thought that probably _wasn't_ the right thing to say in the situation, so instead, she went with the next best thing. The truth sans the illegal bits.

"I have no idea, we met on the air ferry here and kicked it off pretty well. They both grew up in Solitas and I _think_ they both had vast amounts of reasons not to go to Atlas, they don't about their past a lot, but I do know Crimson grew up in Mantle."

Weiss snorted at that. "Well, that explains a lot. Nothing good has come out of Mantle in a long time. They're nothing but criminals and scum."

Neo snorted. _"Yeah, Crimson is a bit rough around the edges."_ She peered over at where her partner was fighting (Read: winning) and frowned. _"Though I am kinda surprised that Crimson is helping a Faunus."_

The sound of a heavy object hitting the tabletop brought the student's attention to where Blake Belladonna had been sitting quietly. Her book had been discarded on the wooden surface and, while her face remained impassive, her eyes held a kind of faint fire.

"What do you mean?" Her voice, like her face, was curiously emotionless. Neo shrugged.

" _Just from what I've learned, Crimson over there has a bad history with them."_ Neo paused, considering what she just said. _"Well, that's not true. He mostly just has a bone to pick with the White Fa-OW! Ruby!"_

Neo rubbed the spot on her side where Ruby had jabbed her with her elbow. Ruby gave her teammate a hard look, a look that said 'No talking about things that could get us found out and imprisoned'. However, Neo had said enough.

"Of course it would be the White Fang." Weiss shook her head in disgust, her lip curled up to show her teeth. "It seems like every bad thing happening in this age can be traced back to those _brutes_."

Neo found it almost comical how much anger Blake struggled to hide at the heiress's words, how her fists became all bloodless skin and bulging knuckles as she tried to restrain the torrent of harsh words Neo knew the ex-Fanger wanted to spew at the Schnee. When she finally spoke, Blake's voice still held the hints of the fury in her heart.

"That's ridiculous, they are _not_ some evil plague destroying the world, they are just trying to make their lives and the lives of their families _better_." Blake's words caused Weiss to scoff and she was about to reply when a coarse sound like rusty metal caused her to look over in surprise

Neo was laughing, bent double as her body shook with merriment. Ruby was beside her, head in her hands, mumbling something about 'Shouldn't have said that."

Neo looked back up at the disguised – and slightly rageful- Faunus with amused, pink eyes. _"Oh, yeah, sure. The Fangers want to make their lives better, they just also want Humanity to lay down at their feet and beg for death, but that's no biggie, right?"_

"That's not true!" Blake's eyes flashed with thunder and she no longer held back her true emotions, anger turning her features sharp and predatory. "They are _not_ murderers, they're not…they are not fanatics!"

Neo rolled her eye, her amusement fading as Blake's defense grew. _"They're EXACTLY that. Maybe not all of them, sure, but enough of them. Their leaders especially, all psychotic warmongers in my opinion."_

Blake stood up so fast that she knocked her plate to the floor, the loud crash being drowned out as Goodwitch burst into the cafeteria, entirely too focused on one fight to notice the other, more personal, hatred brewing. Instincts honed by the streets, Neo leaped up so that both girls were each trying to beat the other down with the force of their glares alone. Their teammates tried to defuse the tense situation.

"Blake, filthy rich coming from me, I know, but you need to calm down." Yang glanced warily between the two girls, ready to leap in-between them if need be. Ruby tugged on Neo's hand and murmured in a soft voice.

"Let's just go somewhere else, Neo. We don't need to get in another fight."

She looked down at Ruby, hands trembling with the force of adrenaline, before taking a deep breath and-

"It's people like _you_ , people like Cardin, that make the White Fang take such drastic steps." Blake's seething voice broke Neo's calmness. "It's because of your bigotries and discrimination that they have no other choice. They are not murderers; they are just misunderstood!"

Neo curled her lip at her words, knowing what she was about to say next would cause a storm of unprecedented destruction. _"Misunderstood? Really? Get it through your head, Belladonna, the White Fang is violent towards everyone not aligned with their cause, Human or Faunus, it doesn't matter. Your father's little peaceful protesters are either dead or decided that violence is, indeed, the answer."_

There was a moment where the two girls just stared at each other. Blake's eyes were wide and shocked at the mention of her father and the effect he had on the White Fang, an effect that had since been drowned in the wake of new, furious leadership. Her mouth was parted with the shock, and the worry, and the _fear_ that now coursed through her. Thoughts like lightning flashing through her head.

 _How does she know? How did she found out?! How-_ Blake stilled, her face fading back into an expressionless mask. _The assassin. They disappeared too fast, they gave up too easily._ Blake's eyes narrowed in on the shorter girl across from her. _But that's just because they knew they would have plenty more opportunities to try again._

Faster than the eye could blink, Blake lunged forward, snatching a knife off the table as she grasped the front of Neo's school uniform and yanked her closer so that she could press the blade of the knife against the soft flesh of Neo's throat. Blake did not even blink when the sharp, cold metal of a blade threatened her _own_ skin, the pressure behind it causing aura to crackle.

Ruby was barely aware of Crimson and Skyler coming back to the table as she jumped out of her seat, followed closely by the rest of Team EWBY and JNPR. In _their_ eyes, this was an argument that had escalated far out of what was proper. To Ruby, this was several hard-worked plans in danger of falling down around her ears.

"Blake! What are you doing?!" Yang grasped her partner's arm that held the knife and tried to pry it away from Neo. Ruby already had her hand around Neo's knife hand, ready to pull it back in case her friend went in for the kill, but neither girl was persuaded by their teammates' efforts.

" _Let me go, Belladonna."_ Neo snarled, glaring into her captor's eyes in an attempt to kill Blake with the force of her rage alone. _"BEFORE I remove your more important arteries."_

"Tell who you are and I'll consider it." Blake stared back, unfazed. Her words made Yang pause in her insistent tugging and look upon her partner with confusion.

"Blake, what are you talking about?"

"Does it matter?" Weiss looked up, her eyes blazing. "Blake _Belladonna_. I must admit, I'm a bit disappointed in myself, I should have at the very least put together that you share the same last name as the chieftain of Menagerie!" The heiress pointed an accusing finger at her teammate. "You're a Faunus, more than that, _your father led the White Fang_!"

Blake closed her eyes, letting Neo slip out of her grasp. She couldn't run, not in the dining hall in the middle of lunch, too many people, too many witnesses. And fighting…no, her friends did not deserve that, not even Weiss. Not to mention the fact that she was heavily outnumbered if she chose to go down the path of extreme conflict.

There was nothing she could do, except wait for every single hammer caused by her past to fall.

"Okay, I think we all need to calm down and talk out our issues." Ruby's voice broke through the darkness in Blake's mind. "Before Weiss stabs Blake in a fit of racist rage and we start a brawl in the cafeteria…again."

She opened her eyes and _stared_ at the leader of Team RSNC with surprised eyes, the rest of the group (Even Weiss) joining her. Ruby just gestured for everyone to sit down.

"Come on, we're all people here, let's put aside everything else and just talk. Weiss, please, just hear your teammate out. Crimson and Neo, keep your thoughts to yourselves for at least five minutes, okay?"

"Hey, Red Leader, I'm cool with this." Crimson plopped back down in his seat and leaned forward, elbows on the table. "Faunus are cool, _most_ Schnees are cool, White Fang can go jump in a lake, but that's just me." Crimson did not miss the way Weiss narrowed her eyes at him when he said ' _most Schnees_ ', but her only offered a small smile in return.

"Not keeping your thoughts to yourself, but whatever." Ruby rolled her eyes and nudged Neo. "Come on, play nice for me?"

The shorter girl huffed, but nodded and sat down in her spot beside Ruby. Skyler merely nodded to his leader as he took his place at the table. Satisfied with her team, she turned to the rest of the students, all of whom (Except Ren, who looked on with a thoughtful interest) were wearing mixed looks of shock, confusion, anger, and fear.

 _Right, primary objective, not letting Blake out us or pull any more knives on Neo._ Ruby took a deep breath and dived into this tripwire situation. Either she would succeed in defusing it or this would end in pain and despair the likes of which few have the ill fortune of experiencing. _Fifty-fifty, right? Is that how math works?_

"Okay," Ruby set down, her seating causing the rest of the group to follow her lead. "First of all, let's all be truthful, yeah? There is no need for any of us to be lying anymore." _Except for us, Team RSNC is the sole exception to that rule._

"I…" Blake looked down at her hands crossed on the table's smooth surface. "I don't want to talk about it _here_. Not with so many people around."

"Too bad, Belladonna." Weiss's voice was colder and sharper than broken shards of ice. "I didn't want my own teammate to lie to me, but it is obvious you do not care about what _we_ want."

"Hey, lay off of her." Yang fixed the girl with a hard look. "Blake is still your friend."

"Is she?" The words cut Blake to the heart, but she couldn't say she was surprised. Yang stood up with a growl, but before the brawler could start swinging, Ruby spoke up.

"Guys, seriously, hitting each other is not going to solve anything." Ruby leveled her gaze at the group. "Now, let's just _talk_."

There was silence for a moment, a silence filled with the expectation of the truth, a silence brimming with the tipping point of decision, of what might happen if the silence was kept, of the life that might be lost and the friends left behind, of what might happen, just _might_ , if the truth was revealed. A future that might bloom If Blake Belladonna did not run away. A moment of hesitation, then she spoke and told the humans around her the story of a young Faunus girl who wanted more for her people then hate and persecution.

And they listened.

xXx

"And I left him there," Blake knew that they all should be in class, but no one could seem to mention that fact. "He just…watched me leave. After that, I knew I had a lot to atone for and the only way I could do that was by saving lives instead of endangering them. So, I came to Beacon, Headmaster Ozpin accepted me despite my past."

"So, the headmaster…knows? About everything?" Weiss had calmed down during the course of Blake's story and the hot rage that had burned in her heart at the revelation of Blake's lies had died off to cinders, still hot, but fading fast. The revealed Faunus nodded.

"Yes, he does. I don't think you can hide _anything_ from that man." Blake sighed. "So, that's it. That's my story, nothing left out."

Yang nodded. "Well, this Adam guy is an asshole, but honestly, I still don't see why you hid your past." She smiled at her partner. "Seriously, Blake, we just had a front-row seat to what happens to bullies here, and If you don't kick their butts, we have at least two people who will."

"I try not to get into fights, but yes, I will if need be."

"I will literally fight anyone who remotely displeases me…or if I think it will be funny."

"See!" Yang swung her arm dramatically, a toothy smile on her face. "No need to worry about bigoted pricks at all!"

Blake smiled, her heart warmed by those words. "Thank you, Yang, but being bullied isn't the reason I hid the truth. I did it because I did not want anyone judging me by _what_ I am, or who I _was_. I want them to see _who_ I am _now_. That is why I lied to you all and…and I'm sorry for that. I hope you can forgive me." She lifted amber eyes and awaited her fate.

"You're still the moody partner that I know and love." Yang nudged her. "Dark past or no."

Ebon smiled at Blake. "Thank you, for telling us, I'm happy to know you trust us and I'm happy I have you as a teammate."

Weiss shifted in her seat, drawing everyone's eyes to the uncomfortable-looking heiress. She spoke slowly as if testing the words coming out of her mouth.

"I need to…think about this more, but Blake?" Weiss looked up. "I will have your back, in battle and here at Beacon."

Blake nodded her thanks, a bit surprised, she had thought that Weiss _Schnee_ would have been much more hostile, but perhaps she had judged the girl on her family like so many had judged _her_ based on the ears kept hidden by a flimsy piece of silk. Team JNPR's reactions were predictable but still heart-warming.

Jaune had stated it didn't matter who Blake was, she was his friend, even if they didn't talk to each other much. Pyrrha had said much the same, her smile warm and friendly. Nora, in a voice that was surprisingly serious, had simply said that 'You're my friend, and friends don't care about the unimportant things.'. Ren had smiled and nodded in his manner and, somehow, Blake _knew_ that Lie Ren had figured her secret out long ago.

"See, that was much better than just fighting!" Ruby was beaming, happy both because a huge secret full of pain had just been aired, its heavy weight lifted from Blake's shoulders… _and_ she had successfully diverted the Faunus from getting answers to her suspicions about Team RSNC.

Overall, not bad for a lunch hour. Speaking of which…

"I hate to break the moment," Skyler tapped the watch face of Timelash. "But lunch was over twenty minutes ago and Oobleck is probably foaming at the mouth."

"Nah, Oobleck is cool." Crimson stretched, his arms going far above the heads of his classmates. "He'll let us off easy."

" _Yeah, Green Man will probably just make us scrub the towers of Beacon with toothbrushes instead of, you know, killing us."_ Neo stood up, brushing Ruby on the shoulder as she did so. _"Come on, team peoples. Let's go learn stuff."_

As Team RSNC stood up and made their way towards the history class, they shared a glance that spoke volumes. A glance that said that the next time their lethal secrets became dangerously close to the surface, they would not be able to deflect the questions with revealing other's secrets or preaching the importance of class, the next time someone pulled a knife on an undercover agent working for a homicidal anarchist, their only options would be to run…or to kill.

* * *

"Remember, students, next time, _don't be late_!" Oobleck swept his gaze across the collection of eight students who had thought they could sneak in despite class already being in process. "And, also, don't forget your reports on the Faunus Revolution are due tomorrow. We will be studying the Second Mountain Uprising, so be prepared and do the assigned readings, I am looking at _you_ , Misters Winchester and Arc!"

Jaune wilted as the _doctor's_ gaze swept the class before nodding his head in a quick jerk. Cardin just scoffed, the bandage around his jaw not doing him any points in the attractiveness department. Instead of a large bully, he just looked like a large, _bruised_ , bully; the rest of his team were in a similar state, but not one of them dared even a look in Team RSNC's direction.

Oobleck, however, spared the more…questionable team a sideways glance. "Professor Goodwitch has asked me if you feel the need to add anything on to Ms. Scarlatina's story. Something she may have missed?"

"They slipped."

" _Velvet's kinda clumsy."_

"It was horrible."

"I _cried_."

"Right," Oobleck turned away from the four students so that they couldn't see his eyes roll in an impressive arc. _This batch of students is much more criminal than the last, I blame Port, he never should have told that pirate story!_

The students were unaware of their teacher's mental rantings and were much more focused on getting out of class as much as fast as possible. It had been a typical Beacon class, boring and weird, with the only interesting point being when Blake had kept her arm firmly down when Oobleck had asked if any of the Faunus students if they had experienced any discrimination because of their heritage (Of course, only a select few students acutely noticed it.).

 _I guess Belladonna still doesn't want to go advertising the fact that she's a Faunus._ Ruby thought idly as she waited for Crimson and Skyler to stop fighting over the thief's pencil. _Eh, each to their own, I guess._

Turning her attention back to her teammates, Ruby watched as Skyler yanked his pencil from Crimson's grasp and proceeded to stab at his eccentric teammate's eyes with it. Snarling something about 'Don't take my stuff!'. Neo was just finishing up drawing a doodle of her triumphantly standing on a pile of beaten and bruised Beacon students.

Ruby nodded in satisfaction, bizarreness and incredible hypocrisy were all signs of a healthy Team RSNC, those and a full collection of limbs and other useful bodily extremities, of course.

Feeling the need to get her team out of here before a mental institute found them, Ruby clapped her hands together and signaled her three lackeys (Despite their protests, that was what Ruby was going to refer to them from now on) to get back to their dorm room. However, just as she left, Ruby noticed a dejected-looking Jaune trudging up to Oobleck's desk, a swaggering Cardin Winchester beside him.

Looking back, noticing how worn and miserable Jaune looked that day, how _desperate,_ was one of the worst mistakes Ruby ever made.

* * *

"Dorm room, sweet dorm room!" Crimson collapsed on his bed, his uniform as anarchic as ever. Skyler rolled his eyes as he began unbuttoning his blazer.

"Are you going to do that every time classes end?"

"Yep!" Came Crimson's muffled reply, not even lifting his face off the pillow. "Today is especially sweet because I'm not in danger of being barbecued by a certain someone who I have officially decided is _not_ a very nice person."

At the mention of the one and only Cinder Fall, Ruby and her two other teammates shared uneasy glances. It was not a secret that the so-called meeting they were forced to go to had left a mark on them all. In the case of the three Syndicate members, it was the overwhelming desire to not let what happened to Crimson happen to them. It was selfish, yes, but they were criminals.

Being selfish was kinda of what they did.

However, as Ruby watched the assassin on the bed, she felt that gnawing feeling. The little voice of instinct, honed by street warfare and death, telling her that something was not right with her teammate; in fact, something was very wrong. And she tried being nice, she tried trying to get him to open up and maybe get over it, but now?

Now was time for the niceties to end.

"Hey, Crimson?" Ruby jerked her head to the door as he looked up at her. "I need to talk to you for a moment."

He slowly lifted his head off his pillow with suspicious eyes.

"If this is about what I _think_ this is about…"

"Just get out of bed and follow me." Ruby left the dorm room, hearing grumblings and bed springs as Crimson rolled out of bed and shortened his pace so that he could walk beside her. The two walked in silence, up stairwells and down long hallways until Crimson began to wonder if his leader was leading him into an ambush.

 _Betrayed by my team and left for dead._ Crimson entertained the idea in his head. _I KNEW I should have double-crossed them first!_

But Ruby was not tricking him into an untimely demise, and soon, the two of them were standing in a shadowy corner of one of Beacon's many balconies. Ruby looked at Crimson for a long moment before speaking.

"Right, let's cut to the point here, I tried being nice in finding out what was eating at you and all I got were lies in return. So, let me tell you what happens now." She stepped closer to him and just like that, their façade as teammates and friends fell away and the true nature of their relationship was revealed. They did not trust each other; Ruby was not sure they even particularly liked each other. They were wary of each other, both of them were predators in a dark underworld and neither knew which one was stronger. However, those facts were only a faint murmur in the back of Ruby's mind as she told the assassin what was going to take place.

"First, you don't have to tell me what's caused you to sob in the bathroom. I can tell that it's messing with your head, but honestly? I don't care all that much about it. What I _do_ care about, is that it doesn't affect the operation here. We have enough problems without your personal ones adding to the mix and I am not risking the lives of my team because a single member is having more mental issues then usually."

"So caring," Crimson said with a roll of his eyes, not even flinching at the comment about him crying the night before. "But if it means you'll stop bugging me, then sure, whatever you say, my _Glorious_ Leader." And with a mocking bow, he whirled on his heels and strode off the roof, leaving Ruby alone with only her thoughts and the encroaching night as company.

 _Well, that could have gone better._ She ran a hand through her short hair. _At least neither of us got thrown off the roof._

Her thoughts were cut off as the balcony doors opened and Jaune Arc stumbled out, pulled by a determined-looking Pyrrha Nikos. From her place in the shadows (Thank Neo for her training!), Ruby could see that Jaune looked worn and drawn as his partner turned to him, a frown marring her face. Jaune just looked around and quirked an eyebrow.

"Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not _that_ depressed." He spared a glance at the edge. "I mean; I can always be a farmer or a café owner or something."

Pyrrha looked confused for a moment before the meaning of Jaune's words hit her like a brick. She quickly dragged Jaune away into the center of the balcony.

"N-n-no! _That's_ not why I brought you up here!" Once sure that her partner was safe and away from the edge, she sighed and spoke in a much calmer tone. "Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class and that you're still not the strongest of fighters, so... I want to help you."

Jaune stiffened in surprise. "Wh-what?"

From her position in the dark, Ruby could see Pyrrha smile softly. "We can train up here after class where no one can bother us!"

"You think I need help?" His voice was low and accusing as if his partner had just cast him down as a weakling. Pyrrha's eyes widened and she cut her arms through the air as if trying to slice in half the allegation.

"N-no! No, that's not what I meant."

"But you just said it." The words held the barest bite of anger.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha seemed to mull over her words as if making sure they were perfect before she spoke them aloud. "Everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from _anybody_ else here." Her eyes brightened. "And you made it to Beacon! That speaks volumes of what you're capable of!"

Jaune scoffed, turning away to stare back over the dark beyond the edges of the balcony. "You're wrong, Pyrrha. I don't belong here, I _never_ did."

She reared back as if his words were a slap. "That's a terrible thing to say! Of course, you do! Why on Remnant would you think that?!"

Jaune chuckled, a sound devoid of any form of humor, a sound filled with hopelessness. "Maybe because I wasn't really accepted into Beacon? Maybe because I lied about going to combat schools and passing tests? Maybe because I got my hands on some fake transcripts and lied my way into Beacon Academy? Maybe _that's_ why!"

Ruby felt her eyebrows disappear into her hairline as she heard the revelation of Jaune Arc. _That explains why he sucks so much. Still, pretty good on his end for forging his way into Beacon, I wonder if Junior helped him?_

Her thoughts were cut off as Pyrrha took a single step closer to her depressed partner and spoke in a bewildered tone. "Jaune, what? But…why?"

Jaune whirled on Pyrrha, his eyes blazing. "Because _this_ is always what I've wanted to be! A _Hunter_ , a _hero_! My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors! They were all _heroes_! I wanted to be one, too. I was just never good enough, I was never able to live up to _anyone's_ standards!"

"Then let me help you!" Pyrrha laid a hand on his shoulder. "Please, Jaune, let me _help_."

"I don't _want_ help!" Jaune abandoned hiding his anger and now let it burn. "I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!"

"Jaune, I-"

But the student-albeit fake one- was on a role and he carried on like Pyrrha hadn't spoken at all. His voice filled with ire and frustration.

"I'm _sick_ of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives!" He waved his arms wildly. "Don't you understand?! If I can't do this on my own... _then what good am I_?!"

"Jaune…" Pyrrha reached out as if to comfort him, but the would-be hero just leaned out of her reach, his face turned away from her.

"Just... leave me alone. Okay?"

"If that's what you think is best..." Ruby watched as the champion of champions walked dejectedly towards the door, before she was gone, though, Pyrrha turned back and spoke in a low voice.

"I won't betray your secret, Jaune, that I can promise you." Then she was gone, leaving Jaune and the still unseen Ruby, alone on the roof. All was quiet…for approximately five seconds.

"Oh, Jaune~" The voice broke the silence as a grinning Cardin Winchester heaved himself over the edge of the roof and smirked at his shocked, and now very afraid, victim. Jaune stumbled away from his bully.

"Cardin! W-what are you doing here?!"

Cardin waved a hand as if discussing the finer things in life. "I just wanted to have a little chat with you! I couldn't help but overhear you two discussing your little secret from my dorm room. I must admit, Jauney, I'm impressed. Sneaking into Beacon like that? Maybe you aren't as dumb as I first thought!" The huntsman-in-training chuckled a bit at that. "Ah, who am I kidding? You're much dumber than I first thought."

"Please, Cardin, _please_." Jaune looked ready to fall on his knees. "You can't tell anyone!"

"Oh, don't worry, Jaune." Someone (Who neither Jaune nor Cardin nor even Pyrrha realized was there) spoke up. "He _won't_."

Both boys turned to see Ruby Rose emerge from the shadows of the balcony. Her eyes hard as she looked at the now-furious Cardin Winchester. The larger boy took a halting step forward, fists clenched in rage.

"What are _you_ doing here?!"

"Oh, you know, just enjoying the night air and eavesdropping on all sorts of interesting conversation." Ruby looked at Jaune thoughtfully. "Really, it's a wonder I don't do this more often. But that's not the point." Clapping her hands, she pointed to Cardin.

"You go away and keep your lips zipped." She held up her hand as Cardin began to spit furiously, cutting off his words. "And if you even _think_ about talking, just know that I have three teammates who will happily put you in the hospital just for laughs, imagine where you'll end up if I _order_ them to take care of you."

Displaying a surprising show of restraint –and intelligence-, Cardin did not attack her then and there, and instead backed off, glaring at the team leader with hateful eyes.

"This isn't over." He warned as he crept back towards the edge of the roof, going back to his dorm room below. "Not by a long shot."

"Go jump in a lake, preferably one with lots of Grimm." Ruby dismissed as she turned back to the still shocked Jaune, ignoring the growl that came from where Cardin was climbing down the wall. The blond student (Or would it be faker now?) looked at her with eyes filled with fear, confusion, and hope.

"Ruby…" He said softly. "I guess you heard everything then?"

"Yep." She nodded. "I was out here when you and Pyrrha came out and I heard _that_ entire debacle of an argument." Ruby caught Jaune's flinch at her words but decided not to mention it, that wasn't why she was talking to him after all. "I was _going_ to leave, but then that jerk Cardin showed up and I decided to step in."

"S-so, you're not going to say anything?" Jaune said, the hope in his voice becoming stronger. Will he still have a chance to become a hero? Sure, people were still bailing him out, but with this chance, he could save _them_ one day. After all, that's what heroes did.

Ruby shook her head. "Nope!" Then she tilted her head and looked thoughtful. "Of course, I don't do things –or not do things, in this case- for free."

"How much do you want? Whatever it is, I'll pay it!" Jaune said without hesitation, Ruby had to choke back her smile. Instead, she simply held out her hands in front of her.

"Whoa, there. I don't want money." She shook her head, the brief image of Jaune's face in history class flashing in her head, the face of a man who would do _anything_. "No, I just want a favor."

Jaune tilted his head to the side. "A favor?"

"You know, sometime in the future, you'll do something for me. A favor." Ruby tapped her chin. "Of course, a secret this big will probably result in a pretty big favor, I hope you will be up to it."

"Of course!" Jaune couldn't believe his luck, His secret was safe! Of course, Cardin knew, but even Jaune could see that the leader of Team CRDL was wary (Bordering on terrified) of Team RSNC and its violent, misfit members. But the brightest point in all of this was that all Ruby wanted in return for keeping his secret was a favor sometime in the future. A favor Jaune will happily do. "Thank you so much, Ruby! I don't know how to repay you, well, I guess that's what the favor is for and I _promise_ I'll do whatever you ask!"

"I trust you." Ruby smiled up at him, her eyes locked onto his. "And Jaune? Take Pyrrha's offer, she is a world-renewed fighter and she is offering you free training, you may not want it, but if you want to protect people, it's time to swallow your pride." _Sure, I am taking advantage of him, but that doesn't mean I can't be nice!_

Jaune looked at her for a minute before nodding. "I…I'll think about it."

 _Ah, the ancient code for "I'll never spar it a second thought'. Fantastic. Still…_ Ruby's smile grew more into a satisfied smirk as she watched Jaune leave the balcony, given her one last wave. _Jaune's desperate to keep his secret, and a desperate man is capable of all sorts of fun stuff._

Did Ruby have any sort of idea of what she wanted to call in Jaune's favor on? No, none at all. Was she still going to exploit it to the fullest benefit to her and her team whenever the opportunity presented itself?

Oh, _yes_.

* * *

Back in the dorm room of Team RSNC, Crimson lay on his bed, deep in thought. When he had come in alone, the two Syndicate members left behind by Ruby had glanced at him suspiciously (Did they really think that if he murdered Ruby, he would actually come _back_?), but relaxed again when he told them that Ruby was still on the roof…well, Skyler relaxed, Neo just got antsy.

But he ignored Neo's worrying and just went to collapse on his bed and think about the past few days.

His conclusion: They _sucked_. But, then again, lots of days sucked! It was his job to get through them with laughter in his heart and his middle finger high…but then again, those days never involved nearly having his epidermal layer burnt off by an insane sadist.

Well, there was that one time with the Faunus dude…that was one _crazy_ scorpion. Crimson actually left that battle impressed and missing both of his eyebrows. Good times.

However, _this_ time was less impressive and more nightmarish and he did not think the wound it inflicted upon his mental state would heal anytime soon. There were too many foul memories being brought forth, memories that Crimson had locked away in the deep recesses of his mind.

 _*THEREWASPAINandthentherewasbloodTHEREWASPAINandthentherewasbloodTHEREWASPAI-*_

Snapping out of the sudden intrusion, Crimson let out an audible _gasp_ , the sound causing his teammates to glance at him in surprise. Ignoring the two pairs of eyes on him, Crimson fumbled his Scroll out of his pocket and flipped to contacts, seeking one out in particular. It was a simple picture of an intricate snowflake, like a master seamstress had sewn frost together, and had a simple name next to it, Crimson felt a small smile cross his face. _Ah, Widget, your constant grumpiness never fells to brighten my day!_

Quickly, he tapped out a message. **Good whatever-time-it-is-up-there-I-don't-know-time-zones-are-weird, how is my favorite Schnee doing? FYI, Beacon is filled to the brim with drama queens, count your lucky stars you aren't suffering here next to me.**

He hit send and barely a minute had passed before the device chimed. Reading the message, Crimson felt the painful pressure in his head fade away.

 **If you don't like the drama, then you shouldn't have decided to become a Hunter (I still firmly believe it is a barbaric profession, doubly so now that** _ **you're**_ **among their ranks.). As for me, everything is the same, no, I rather not talk about it.**

Crimson sighed, shaking his head, in the two-and-a-half years he had known Widget, he and Crimson had never really gone and discussed in-depth about their home life, but both of them could easily guess what the other's was like, it was not very hard when they were both the same. Fingers flying, he sent another text.

 **It's your life, Whitley, yours to tell as you deem fit.** Crimson looked at the text he had just sent, scoffing a bit at it. _Well, aren't I in the eloquent mood?_ Whitley Schnee, or Widget as Crimson dubbed him when they first met, picked up on it.

 **Are you feeling alright, Crimson? The last time you said something with this much feeling, I did not hear from you for nearly three months. Is everything okay?**

Crimson looked at the screen for a moment, just the briefest of moments, before sending his reply.

 **Of** _ **course**_ **, dude! I'm fine!**

* * *

Skyler was sure what Crimson was doing as he messed with his Scroll, but the thief was sure he probably didn't want to know. The assassin just had that kind of effect on people.

 _Probably due to poor social interaction and one too many bludgeons to the head._ Either way, Skyler had better things to occupy his time with. Mostly trying to convince Neo to just go take a shower because that Ruby was, indeed, fine and charging to the roof, weapons blazing, was a very bad idea.

 _Oh, who am I kidding.? EVERY idea this team has is a very bad idea! The entire reason why we are here is a VERY bad idea! This is like the realm of extremely poor decisions!_ Skylar sighed, feeling more exasperated then he had ever been in his life. When exactly had it gotten so complicated?

Oh, yeah, he just got done _reading_ about it.

Turning his attention back to the textbook in front of him, the pages flipped to the chapter which Oobleck assigned, he scanned the words one last time.

"… _the Amarok Tribe was a part of the Amaguq People, a collection of tribes that had dwelled in the Hlinterland Mountains since before the time of the Kingdom of Mantle (see page 234). Like the First Mountain Uprising in which the Amaguq People and the now extinct Nanurluk Tribes fought Mantleite forces for control over the Hlinterlands, the Second Mountain Uprising was led by the Amarok Tribe and was fought against the Atlas Military. Unlike the First Mountain Uprising, however, the Second Uprising ended in the destruction of the Amarok Tribe and the relocation of the Amaguq People to the Boreas Tundra (See page 455)._

Skyler looked at the book for a long moment and for just a single second, he could almost hear the screams of humanity, the pounding hail of bullets, and the roars of hungry Grimm.

* * *

When Ruby reentered her dorm room, she was surprised about how calm and peaceful it was. Crimson was on his Scroll while sprawled across his bed, fingers busily typing away. Skyler was seated at his desk, reading from a large history book. And, if the light and steam wavering from under the bathroom door was anything to go by, Neo was taking a hot shower.

 _We are almost like normal people now!_ Ruby couldn't help but grin at the thought. _That is so weird!_

Briefly, she wondered how long it would last until everything devolved back into chaos. These sorts of things just did _not_ last, especially in light of the recent occurrences like Neo nearly being stabbed in the face. Ruby still wondered how _that_ would affect their relationship with Team EWBY.

 _Eh, things to worry about tomorrow._ Ruby meandered over to the nearest bed, intent on just relaxing after pulling Jaune into her list of 'People Who Owe Me Stuff'. Idly, she wondered what his Pyrrha's reaction would be if she knew what her partner had gotten himself in too. Ruby wasn't worried about Cardin, he was dumb, but he wasn't dumb enough to ignore a warning from _her_.

 _Actually, wait a minute, he might be that dumb. Ah, well, I'll dismember that problem when I come to it!_

" _Why are you grinning manically? Wait, scratch that, why are you grinning manically on my bed? Are you planning something? Should I be worried or excited? Answer the last one first."_

Neo's voice caused Ruby to snap out of her thoughts and jerk to a sitting position on what she now realized was, indeed, the shorter girl's bed. Looking over at her, Ruby tried to tamper down the smile that had spread across her lips.

"Just thinking about the future, my dear Neo, all sorts of wonderful things labile to happen soon."

Neo looked at her warily. _"You are aware I nearly got my throat silt by an ex-terrorist at lunch, right? Not even mentioning the Crimson fiasco, wonderful is not a word I would use to describe our future. Maybe terrifying?"_

"How about desperate?" Crimson, who had been listening on the conversation, chimed in.

"Bleak?" Skyler suggested, causing Ruby to wonder if she had any privacy in this room at all. "Bleak is always a good choice for describing the future."

" _Actually, I think depressing nightmare might be better."_ Neo looked thoughtful which prompted her team leader to shut down this conversation before it got any darker than it already was.

"Okay, you three need to _lighten_ up." Ruby hopped off the bed and turned to face her team, crossing her arms across her chest. "Yes, our circumstances are dangerous, but there's no need to get grim about it. In fact," She started pacing in front of them like a general in front of her troops. "I think we need to do something fun! I mean, this past couple of days have been harsh and we could all use a break."

Neo tilted her head to the side, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. _"What do you have in mind?"_

Ruby smiled widely. "Game night! Tomorrow, we can head down to Vale, pick up some games, and just have some fun!"

There was silence for a moment before Crimson started cackling, the gleam of insanity making his eyes _glow_.

"Um…" Ruby backed away from the madman's bed. "Glad to see you're on board?"

"Ignore him." Skyler cast a disparaging look at his laughing teammate. "But yes, a game night sounds good to me. It will be nice not to have an attempted murder every day."

Neo just shrugged. _"Sounds good to me, it will be nice just to be back in the proper Kingdom."_

"Yeah! Tomorrow, Team RSNC's Ultimate Game Night will be a go!"

"Huzzah, I guess."

" _Did you just say 'Huzzah'? What is wrong with you?"_

"Oh, did I just offend your lower class sensibilities?"

 _"Lower class? Ha! You're a peasant compared to me, Snowball!"_

Crimson just giggled on his bed, the gleam in his eyes still shining like fire. Oh, he had some lovely _ideas_ for tomorrow night, ideas he couldn't wait to see realized.

* * *

 **As you may have been able to tell, I wanted the timeline to be a little different than usual. Again, sorry for the wait, my computer and I have a relationship of mutual loathing now. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **Next Update: 3/10/2019**


	10. Of Games and Lost

**Here's the chapter, it's shorter than usual, but still, I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

"So, why are we going to Vale instead of eating a free lunch?" Crimson lamented asked as Team RSNC stepped off the Bullhead and into the bustle and noise of Vale, the lunch rush in full swing. "Because I'm not sure about you three, but free food is one of my more favorite things."

"Because tonight is Team Game Night!" Ruby pumped her fist into the air. "I said last night that we needed to go to Vale to pick stuff up and so, here we are! I'm thinking of stopping by home, we have _lots_ of games there."

" _We do,"_ Neo confirmed before wincing. _"But Dad locked them all away somewhere after the last family game night."_

Skyler looked at her strangely. "What happened at your last family game night?"

" _Ruby sliced a sofa in half and I accidentally broke my own wrist."_ Neo shrugged at Skyler's bewildered look. _"What? None of us play by the rules, obviously, so things just sorta happen."_

"It gets crazy," Ruby confirmed with a firm nod of her head. "I just hope we don't have to frame someone again."

Crimson leaned his head into view. "I'm sorry, what now?"

Ruby just waved him away. Briefly, she wondered if she could set Jaune up if the need arose, but quickly banished that idea as ridiculous. It would be a sin to waste a favor like that. _Oh, yeah, that reminds me_. _I probably need to tell the others about Jaune…eh, I'll do it later. Right now, we're visiting Roman!_

With that thought, Ruby smiled and she skipped ahead of the rest of her team, the familiar scent of chemicals and old seawater like a welcoming beacon lighting her way home. Like the hand of a loved one, small and warm in her own…

"Oh, by the Gods, the Great Wolf, and my own nose, _what is that smell_?!"

Skyler, if his rearing back in actual pain was anything to go by, did not share Ruby's sentiment.

xXx

The rest of the trip to the warehouse was uneventful, Skyler simply had a disgusted-and slightly pained-look on his face for the remainder of the walk and ignored the jabs directed his way by Crimson and Neo.

" _Are milord's delicate nostrils better now?"_ Neo looked over at her teammate, an all-too-sweet smile on her face. Skyler just looked ahead, not bothering to give her so much as a glance. _"Wow, rude. Hey, Crimson, isn't that rude of him?"_

"So rude." Her partner agreed. "Here we are, concerned for his health, and he just ignores us!"

" _Some people are so ungrateful."_

"What a jerk."

Skyler, keeping up with his quest to pretend that half of his team doesn't exist, had already engaged Ruby in conversation. The topic, of course, being weapons.

"And that's why Lightning Dust rounds are _much_ better than any other type. They can bypass aura and the light show can be _spectacular!_ "

"I'll take your word for it." Skyler was mildly impressed by his partner's enthusiasm for weapons and the devices related to the deadly tools. He was no amateur when it came to weapons and their designs, but Ruby Rose took it to a whole new level. Her inventions showing that her skills and talents did not lay in killing alone. "By the way, is Mr. Torchwick going to be fine with showing us your home? I and Crimson are just employees, after all."

"I am here on a favor; Ginger-Man is _not_ my boss!" Crimson crossed his arms before saying with a bite in his voice "Now if he _paid_ me, I might reconsider."

"Just hold your breath and see." Ruby cast a dark look back at her teammate before turning back. "To answer _your_ question, Skyler, me and Neo are bringing you, that right there is enough for Roman to not replace you."

Skyler sighed. "I rather not have my murder referred to as a replacing, but I understand what you are saying. Let's hurry, I rather get back to Beacon before lunch is over, I don't want to be late to class _again_."

"Yeah, yeah, we're almost there." Ruby stepped into the narrow alley that ran between two ramshackle storehouses marked with a faded sigil (Ruby always thought they looked kinda like a big M), and the warehouse that contains the most wanted man in Vale came into view. On the outside, it was the same as the rest, a grey building of metal and wood; but on the inside, it was home to the two girls of Team RSNC.

Of course, that was the reason Ruby gave herself to explain the warm feeling in her chest at the sight of Neo's smile. After all, what else could it be?

xXx

"And find the playing cards! Those are a vital part of any game night!" Ruby called out as her team ransacked the Loft for whatever could make their leader's game night all the more interesting. Although the wide, homey space was empty (They assumed Roman was working), just the mere fact of standing next to _her_ bed relaxed the tensions that had been hurled at her since first stepping foot into Beacon.

"Hey, this pie is really good!"

"Zombie Boy! Get out of Mr. Torchwick's pantry, you crazed freeloader!"

" _I found Monopoly, but there's a bullet hole in the board. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"_

…Okay, so maybe it wasn't _just_ Beacon Academy causing all the anxiety. Her teammates were about the furthest away from normal one could get before they hit Grimm. Still, they kept life…interesting for lack of a better word.

Ruby's musings were cut off as Skyler's voice spoke up from where he was. "I don't mean to cut this short, but we have fifteen minutes before class starts."

She peered over the edge of the iron railing that separated her area from the rest of the loft. Neo, Skyler, and Crimson (Who was still munching on something that used to belong to Roman) looked back up at her. Neo raised a bag that bulged outwards in odd places, stuffed to the brim.

" _I think I got everything, so if you want to start heading back, we can."_

Ruby shrugged. "Might as well, it will keep Zombie Boy down there from eating us to bankruptcy at the very least."

"Not ones for warm hospitality, aren't you?" Crimson shook his head in mock shame. "What is the youth of today coming to?"

"No idea about the rest of them, but _you're_ getting out of our Loft." Ruby marched down the spiral staircase and began trying to push Crimson down the stairs and out of the warehouse, he humored her by moving. Skyler and Neo followed their partners with shared eye-roll. As the two walked down the iron steps, Skyler glanced at Neo.

"So, did Belladonna ever apologize for yesterday?"

She snorted. _"Oh, you mean for trying to kill me? No, not yet"_ A small grin played at her mouth. _"But then again, how DOES one go about apologizing for threatening to silt another person's throat?"_

* * *

 _Back at Beacon Academy…_

"Good afternoon, students. Glad to see you all on time." Oobleck zipped around the classroom, oozing passive aggressiveness. Skyler noticed Jaune wilting at the rebuke as well as the awkward distance between him and his more famous partner. _Mm, I wonder what that's about?_

But Skyler Snow was not here to ponder the drama of teenagers, he was here to learn history! Or, rather, the history that was written by the victors. No one cared about the story of the defeated.

And so he listened to a Southerner tell a tale of the North, about a tribe who _drowned_ in blood and were forgotten by time. And he felt a drop of rage, burning like hot gasoline, start a fire in his stomach.

Oobleck did not deviate from the textbook, his words were _nothing_ but "This happening at that time" or "This person lead this force", his words were cold, impersonal, and _nothing_ like the fiery passion the boy called Skyler remembered. The man's words were _nothing_ like the cries of vengeance sworn to a spiraling mountain sky. And he felt that drop of rage turn into a molten stream of dark emotions.

Even when the class ended, and Oobleck said words that the boy did not hear nor care to, he still felt like his anger was clawing upwards in a mad attempt to spew out. When some of the students of Beacon, the ones he had already met, gather in the library to go over the essays and lectures, two of them start talking about the history lesson.

And their words were the tipping point for the boiling fury to roar out like the howls of hungry wolves.

xXx

Ruby was worried about her partner. Ever since Oobleck's class, he had not spoken a single word and his face seemed to be set in harsh stone. Of course, something told her that the words of one Weiss Schnee and one Pyrrha Nikos were not helping at all.

"I have nothing against the native people, but when I was growing up in Argus, I always heard stories of the Amarok attacking airships and caravans that got to close to the Hlintherlands and raids on villages built close to their borders." Pyrrha looked downcast at the long table. "So many people died because of them."

"That's because the Amarok were a violent race of raiders and thieves." Weiss's expression was as hostile as her words as she talked about the tribe. "They seemed to take a particular pleasure in destroying Schnee property and stealing whatever they could grab. In fact, even the _White Fang_ comes in second to the destruction those savages wrought." As soon as those words came out of her mouth, Weiss winced and turned to Blake Belladonna.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't-"

"It's fine." Blake cut her off with a soft smile. "I'm not part of that anymore and maybe it is for the best to not pretend I never was."

Weiss smiled back at her before shaking her head and sighing, her earlier venom seemingly drained away. "Still, it probably was for the best that General Ironwood solved the Amarok problem. Who knows how many others could have been died if he didn't."

The creak the chair made as he slowly rose from it was like the splintering of old bones. In the quiet library, it drew everyone's attention. Skyler stared at the assorted students, still seating with confused looks on their faces. All except his three teammates, where wariness mixed with mystification. When he spoke, his words were like biting winter winds.

"It's funny how your own words tell why the Amarok Tribe did what they did. You call them raiders, and murderers and _savages-"_ His voice turned harsh. "But who snatched children from their beds? Who took away entire families in chains? Who spread diseases so foul entire civilizations fell apart overnight? Who pushed _us_ to the edge of the world until the only option left was to reclaim what belonged to _us_!"

He was panting, his eyes wild as he glared at everyone before him. " _You_ were the invaders, _you_ were the monsters that mothers told their little children about, _you_ were the ones who murdered, and _raped_ , and destroyed _my_ people! My people, my…" Skyler closed his eyes and murmured in a voice filled with things no person should have to feel. "My people wanted justice and they were slaughtered for it."

Then he walked away, slowly, almost as if he was in pain. For a long moment, they just watched him go, but then Ruby got up and hurried to walk beside him, neither speaking as they left the library.

As the two partners left, Crimson and Neo shared a glance before turning back to the still slightly-shocked Teams JNPR and EWBY. With a slow smirk creeping up on his lips, Crimson leaned in closer to the two teams.

"I must say, I'm starting to fear for my life." The smirk widened into a grin. "There is only two members of the great Team RSNC left that you lot haven't already insulted or threatened. Keep this up, and you'll have four new enemies for life!" The grin grew into a smile. "Of course, since you just insulted our glorious leader's _partner_ , you might not have to wait too long for the whole grudge thing. Bye now!"

The partners walked out of the library, eyes watchful, they had teammates to find.

xXx

Skyler walked in silence, the halls were empty except for him and his partner, strolling beside him. He could tell that Ruby wanted to say something, but was grateful that she sensed his need for quiet. For just a little peace so that he could arrange his rampant emotions back into the box that burst out of. To try and clam the rage that threatened to wipe his mind clean of human reasoning and devolve his senses into something _brimming_ with hate and fury.

Finally, as he felt his anger drain away and the comfortable numbness return, Skyler turned his head to look at her.

"I'm sorry about screaming at you. You had...you had nothing to do with anything."

Ruby just smiled up at him. "Hey, it's fine. Don't worry about it."

Skyler turned his gaze back to the floor, his face impassive. "My real name is Kallik."

Ruby nodded as if she expected it. "It's a cool name."

He hummed softly. "I changed it to Skyler Snow after…well, you know what after. It was easier that way, both in everyday life and to seal away my past." He chuckled. "It's funny, Skyler Snow was invented after I got caught trying to rob Mr. Torchwick."

Ruby laughed softly. "You tried to steal from Roman? I thought you said you _weren't_ a Crimson Shard."

"In my defense, I was uneducated in the ways of street life and also starving, I would have robbed Jacques Schnee if he happened to walk by." Skyler –or Kallik, Ruby wasn't sure what to call him-sighed. "Anyways, Mr. Torchwick caught me and instead of breaking my wrist, he offered me a job. Apparently, he was impressed with my attempt to relieve him of his wallet. It was only later that I realized what a feat it was to actually get Roman Torchwick's wallet out of his pocket _before_ he caught you in the act."

Ruby whistled. "You got his wallet out of his pocket? No wonder he hired you, Neo tried to do that once and he caught her before she even lifted her hand, and she had illusions!"

"Yes, well." He shifted uncomfortably. "She probably took her failure with good grace and dignity, I called Mr. Torchwick a filthy white maggot and proceeded to try and take off his fingers with a piece of rusty iron. Needless to say, he wasn't very amused and it was only after I was being held upside down that he offered me the position in his Syndicate. I was a common cutpurse and pickpocket who worked his way up into the high position of a cat burglar."

"Did it quickly too," Ruby observed. The two walked in silence for several long moments before she spoke again. "So, what should I call you, Kallik or Skyler Snow?"

"Call me Skyler Snow. Kallik is the son of an Amarok warrior who harbors nothing but hate and anger. Skyler is a thief who merely wants to live in some semblance of peace." He looked up at his partner. "And for this assignment, we need level-heads."

Ruby frowned a bit at the strange wording of Skyler's answer but nodded anyway. The pair turned into another hallway before Skyler spoke again.

"You two can come out now."

With a shattering like broken glass, Neo burst into existence in front of the partners, her parasol hanging from the crook of her elbow. There was a rustle from above and Crimson dropped from the ceiling like a giant spider, landing on his feet with a loud _thud_. He grinned at the partners.

"I'm telling you, soon you're going to be braiding each other's hair and talking about cute people together." He sighed dramatically. "You found a bestie, Ruby, good job."

"I'm not even going to bother to try and understand you anymore." Ruby shook her head as the four of them started walking back in the direction of their dorm. Looking over to Neo, she asked.

"So, did anything interesting happen after we left?"

Neo shrugged. _"The other teams didn't say anything, even after Crimson made a comment about all of us hating them forever."_

"Great." Ruby snorted. "Well, I think it's safe to say that trying to be friends with Teams EWBY and JNPR is off the to-do list. Crimson, we're going back to your plan of avoiding them forever."

"What about Nora? Are we going to avoid her too?"

Ruby gasped at Crimson's inquiry. "Don't ask such blasphemous questions, of _course,_ we'll still hang out with Nora! She's my shower friend!"

If either of them were watching Neo at the time, they would have seen her eye twitch sporadically. On the other hand, Skyler looked at his leader and partner with questioning eyes.

"So, wait," He said slowly. "Are you literally going break ties with the majority of the first years just because they insulted me?"

"Yes." There were no lies in Ruby's voice.

" _Duh. Seriously, what kind of question is that?"_ Neo rolled her eyes.

"If you paid me enough, I would literally go kill them." Crimson's grin was warmer than usual, it was almost strange to see.

Skyler looked at his team for a moment, a thousand emotions flashing through his eyes before growing clearer then they had ever been before, like fresh snow in the height of winter. He turned back to face the hallway.

"Don't we have Monopoly to cheat at on a bullet-riddled board?"

Ruby gasped. "The Game Night! That's right! Come on, people, we got places to be!" In an explosion of rose petals, Ruby rocketed forward, leaving the rest of her team to race to catch up.

" _Ruby! Stop! Heel! You're going the wrong way!"_

"Are these rose petal real? Or are they like, I don't know, Ruby Nectar? The essence of Ruby? Did I just make this weird? Is anyone going to answer my question?"

Skyler smiled, a crescent of white that gleamed out at the world. Yes, this was his team. Yes, they were weird and crazy and left much to be desired in the morals department. And yes, he would fight for this motley gang of misfits with everything he had in him.

After all, it was nice to have something worth protecting.

* * *

 **And there we go. I hope you liked it! Oh, and expect something later tonight, maybe two somethings if everything goes smoothly. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you in the next chapter!**


	11. Wine at Midnight

**See, told you there would be something. This is really short, but it is setting up for the next arc. And what an arc it will be!**

* * *

Cinder Fall's night was fine. She was working in one of the private offices of her warehouse, relishing the peace and quiet.

Then Arthur Watts called, and it quickly took a dive for the very worse. She glared at her Scroll for a long minute, for she could not very well bring a Seer in with the risk of some of her more _uninformed_ minions finding the orb Grimm and asking questions that would make Cinder have to put them down.

She did not have an endless supply of grunt labor, after all. A decrease in the workforce would have spelled disaster for everything _they_ have planned.

Finally, she answered the buzzing device with her words shoving past gritted teeth. "What do you want, Watts?"

"Oh, trust me, _girl_." The man's voice sneered. "I wouldn't have called unless this was a matter of utmost importance."

Cinder was glad it was not a video call, if it were, Watts might have seen the flash of surprise and confusion that flared across her face. The disgraced scientist's voice held the usual arrogance, but there was a shadow of fear tainting his ego. Something had happened to scare him, a feat that Cinder knew from experience was not an easy task.

"What happened?" She stabbed straight to the point, this was important and she was not wasting her time with beating around the bush.

"There has been another incursion."

The words froze Cinder into place. "But I thought…" She took a deep breath. "When? How far did they get?"

"It doesn't matter _when_!" There was his temper, finally off the leash as fear (Fear that Cinder now understood) took control. "That mutant swarm nearly reached the castle! The Queen herself had to drive them back! He is getting bolder!"

"Calm down!" She snapped. "Stop acting like a low-level thug and get ahold of yourself. You did not call me just so that you could whimper in fear! What is _her_ will?"

"How dare-" It was his turn to take a deep breath and Cinder could almost see his mustache twitching with rage. When he started speaking again, his voice was cold. "The Queen was able to pluck something from the Alpha's mind before it died this time, apparently it remembers its rebirth…and where it happened."

Cinder sucked in a breath. "We know where he is."

"The details are hazy, but _I_ have managed to find the rough location." The fear in Watts' voice drew back to be replaced with disdain and a hint of jealousy. "The madman is somewhere beneath Vale's catacombs; it is your task to destroy the usurper. Our Lady does not react well with failure, girl, as I'm _sure_ you remember You have three days."

When Watts hung up, and Cinder was left in the artificial glow of the office's lights, she leaned back and let her eyelids flutter closed, a smirk of triumph coming across her face. No threat of failure and no reminder of punishment could stop it. And in the silence, Cinder murmured.

"Let's see your _genius_ now, Merlot. Let's see your Lusus Naturae stand against fire and steel."

* * *

 **Who's ready for large amounts of pain, terror, and death? If not…well, my condolences.**

 **Next update: 3/18/19**


	12. The First Step into Shadows

**Boom, here it is. It's late, I know, I hope you enjoy it anyways!**

* * *

Skyler was an expert in pretending people didn't exist. Briefly, Ruby wondered if it was his semblance because there was no way he could just _act_ like the people who insulted him were nothing more than particularly uncomfortable-looking pieces of wall.

However, the same could not be said of the other three members of Team RSNC

"They're just… _staring_ at us." Crimson kept his eyes on his pastry (A cherry turnover that he got after literally snarling at another student.). Even though, the rest of his team knew who he was talking about.

" _Those three are really pushing their luck,"_ Neo grumbled, casting a dark look to where Nikos, Schnee, and Belladonna sat with their teams. _"If they keep gawking at us, I might have to go over there and if THAT happens, I'll be annoyed."_

Ruby snorted, her fork idly playing in her breakfast. "Well, we can't have _that_. Now, can we?" Turning in her seat, she cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled over to the three girls.

"If you're not going to buy us a drink, then stop ogling us!" The shout carried well over the sounds of the dining hall. If Ruby's loud demand did not capture the attention of the student body, Crimson's burst of laughter did the job very well.

"Ah, funny." He wiped a nonexistent tear from his eye. Sneaking a glance at the other first-year teams, he had to stifle another laugh. "Oh, look at their _faces_. The blushes alone are priceless!"

"Glad to see you're so amused." Skyler rolled his eyes before turning to look at Ruby, speaking in a much quieter tone. "By the way, has there been any news from our employer? Things have been rather quiet on that front and I doubt that is a good sign."

The leader shrugged. "If she wants to leave us alone, I'm not complaining. Besides, I have plans for today that I really want-"

Ruby's Scroll chimed like iron bells and all other noise at Team RSNC's table died to nothing. Crimson and Neo warily eyed the device while Ruby rubbed her forehead, a rising glare on her face. Skyler just sighed.

"Oh, I wonder who _that_ might be."

* * *

"Well…"

"Yeah."

" _I mean…"_

"The Hells is a Merlot?" Crimson peered at the assignment detailed on the Scroll. "And since when did Vale have catacombs? Are we sure Fall isn't pulling our legs?"

"In all my unfortunate time of knowing her," Ruby still had that glare on her face from breakfast. "Cinder Fall has _never_ been one for jokes."

After breakfast was over, Team RSNC had headed straight for the nearest empty room (Which just so happened to be a men's restroom.) and read their new assignment from their murderess of the boss.

 **Your Beacon mission is put on hold. The new assignment is to kill a man who has been a thorn in my side for too long, his name is Merlot and I have located him somewhere underneath Vale's catacombs. Meet me at the entrance to the East Sewers after whatever classes you have are over. We are striking tonight. Do not be late.**

"No to insult our unholy employer or anything, but she's awfully wordy when it comes to assignment texts." Crimson once again narrowed his eyes at the words displayed on the screen. "But back on topic, what's a Merlot?"

"First of all, it is pronounced _mare-lou_ , not _mer-lot_." Skyler templed his fingers together. "And it's a name, of whom, I have no idea."

" _Cinder doesn't like him,"_ Neo observed, leaning against the sink counter. _"But it's strange she's not just sending some grunt or her two minions to off this Merlot. Why does she need us?"_

"We'll find out tonight." Ruby snapped her Scroll shut. "But until then, we should probably vacate this bathroom before Jaune or someone walks in and we have to avoid explaining ourselves."

"You know, it doesn't matter what we could say, right?" Crimson looked at Ruby as they walked towards the door. "Anyone who just saw would _automatically_ assume we just got done having a-OW! WHY DO YOU KEEP STABBING ME?!"

" _Just think of me as the mental filter you were so cruelly denied at birth."_

"Mental filters don't stab people!"

" _A violent metal filter then."_

"That's not even a _thing_!"

Skyler covered his eyes with a hand, his voice. "Crimson, Neo, please shut up."

Crimson slapped a hand across his chest and looked offended enough for both him _and_ Neo "Hey, this is a, like, partner bonding time for us. You and Ruby talk about weapons, me and Neo discus what a horrible person she is and-OW! FOR THE LOVE OF ME, STOP DOING THAT, YOU IRRITATING SADIST!"

As the two squabbled, Ruby sild over to Skyler who still had his hand over his eyes as if attempting to shield himself from his other two teammates. After a moment, she looked up at him.

"Sooooooo, Snowball, what made you want to weaponize a pocket watch?"

He sighed, lowered his hand, and looked to his partner. "Boredom, mostly."

* * *

"…then the monster of the underworld swiped at me with claws the size of swords! But excursing great flexibility, I managed to dodge with a mere flesh wound!"

"And in doing so, doomed the rest of us to listen to you," Crimson muttered as he carved his name into the desk with a slender dagger, where he got it, no one on his team really wanted to ask. Neo snored in agreement, passed out cold on her open textbook.

"Oh, it's not that bad," Skyler said, his hands behind his head. "Think of all the conversation we could not have if not for our dear portly professor's complete disregard for his students' education."

"And of course, that strapping young man was me all along!"

"I feel like there has to be some hidden message in his words." Ruby had her chin in her hand and was studying the professor intently. "He can't just be randomly rambling on about his backstory, there had to be something he's trying to teach us."

"The townsfolk decided to repay me in vast amounts of alcohol!"

"How to Kill your Students with Words Alone 101?" Crimson suggested as he dotted the 'I' in his name with a heart, hundreds of wood shavings littered his lap. "Seriously, why are we even here?"

"To learn about the creatures you'll be slaying? That's the normal reason, anyways."

The new voice caused Team RSNC (Sans the still sleeping Neo) to lean over and look down at the upturned face of Ebon Winters, leader of Team EWBY and one of two of their members who still had yet to insult an RSNC member. Crimson propped his head up with his arm and grinned as his teammates fell back to their seats.

"Ah, but what's the point? What's so special about killing Grimm that we need a class for it? Cut away enough flesh and they'll die like everything else, it is as simple as that."

Ebon twisted her chair so that she was facing him, her dark eyes fixed on his gleaming red ones.

" _That_ was dark. Not the best childhood?" She suddenly held up her hands and scrunched her eyes closed. "No. Wait, let me guess, Blake and Skyler are not the only ones with a shadowy past and you used to be a morally-grey mercenary?

Crimson lifted a streak-of-blood eyebrow. "Why a mercenary?"

"With all the other dramatic reveals going on, I feel like a mercenary is next on the list." Ebon tilted her chin up thoughtfully. "That, or some sort of edgy assassin."

The undercover (And definitely _not_ edgy!) assassin cocked his head to the side, his grin still in place. "Oh, come on, that last one was just _ridiculous_!"

Ebon shrugged. "Hey, I'm not counting _anything_ out at this point. What about a pirate?"

"Sadly, no. Though, between you and me, my pirate name would totally be Captain Bloodbeard."

"Are you a...Were-Grimm?"

"A what Grimm? Are you making up man-eating monsters and then accusing me of being said man-eating monster?"

"You're avoiding the question! That's pretty suspicious!"

"I am not a Grimm and I'll prove it to you, give me a gun."

And the two students talked the class away, Port none the wiser. Thankfully, Ebon had the sense to not give Crimson a gun.

* * *

 _That evening, in the Kingdom of Vale…_

"Are we there yet? I'm bored." Crimson complained loudly as the team walked in-between Vale's sewage treatment facilities, their stench fouling the air. "My assassinations don't involve this much walking! Nor do they take place in sewers. Is this normal for the Torchwick Syndicate or are you people just freaks?"

" _Zombie Boy…"_ Neo's voice was low and dangerous, the voice of a predator. _"I'll give you one more chance to shut the Hells up before I stab you in the groin again."_

"That's probably sexual on some sort of level. Speaking of weirdly sexual things, is it just me or is Fall most definitely a sadist? And not the fun kind, but like the kind you rather not interact with in any way, shape, or form."

"Did someone give him caffeine?" Skyler was baffled and annoyed. "Because he has been talking non-stop ever since we left Beacon."

"Well, Ebon give me an energy drink at lunch, several actually! Does that count? Heeeey, I just called her by her actual name and not a nickname! I need to fix that. Any ideas? I'm thinking Grimm Rider! No, that's stupid. Anyone else thinks she's nice? We _did_ have some nice conversations."

"We can't bring this chatterbox to Cinder, the embarrassment _alone_ will kill us," Ruby muttered as she rubbed her forehead. "Do we have any duct tape?"

"Ooh, kinky!" Crimson grinned wildly at Ruby. "Sorry, not into it. But worry not! I have made a list of people who _are_ into stuff like that, don't ask me how I found out. It involved trespassing!"

" _That's it, I'm killing him. We can tell Cinder he fell out of the Bullhead."_ Neo pulled her parasol blade out of its lacy sheath and advanced on her still-smiling partner. She was stopped by Ruby placing her hand on her arm.

"Not yet, we still need him." Ruby looked over to Crimson who was making a strong attempt to talk Skyler's ear off. It looked to Ruby that her partner was making an even stronger effort not to throttle the hyper assassin. "Maybe. Depends of if he stops talking or not."

He didn't, and the rest of the trip to the entrance to the East Sewers were spent with Crimson chattering about everything under the sun. By the end of it, when they had entered the compound where the sewer access hunkered down like a squat toad, their nerves were running high and Ruby had a sneaking impression that Crimson was doing it all on purpose. Either way, they were never letting him have caffeine before a mission ever again.

xXx

"I can't tell which is worse." Ruby mused to herself as her team stood (Crimson was collapsed against the wall, napping away his crash) in the underground room, the sounds of other people all around them. "The fact that I'm surrounded by White Fang grunts or the fact that I'm forced to be in the same room as the lackeys."

"Love you too, Rose!" Mercury Black's snide voice issued from where he and his green-haired partner stood on either side of the door to the room (Emerald was standing; Mercury was leaning against the wall.). Neo took the liberty to flip him off on Ruby's behalf.

" _Don't you have a boss you need to suck up to? Why are you even here?"_

"Cinder wanted all hands on deck for killing this guy." Mercury shrugged. "And even if you hate our guts, me and Emerald are assets you _don't_ want to lose."

Ruby scoffed. "I bet that's what Cinder tells you every night when she tucks you into bed."

Silent up till then, Emerald turned her head to look at the younger girl and let her lip curl upwards. "Would you shut up already, runt? We're here, so deal with it and act like the professional you keep pretending to be."

"Acting?! Are you-"

"Silence! Now is not the time to be acting like children." A voice full of embers snapped from the darkness behind the doorway and the golden outline of Cinder Fall glowed out to the gathered criminals. "We have a mission and I will not see it ruined by petty squabbling!"

Silence reigned in the room as even the White Fang stopped their mutterings and turned to look as the woman all of Vale's underworld stepped out into the light, flanked on either side by her two underlings. Harsh, burning eyes swept the group and Cinder's face settled into a professional mask as she spoke.

"The assignment is simple; somewhere below Vale's catacombs is a man known as Doctor Merlot, we are here to kill him. Keep quiet and be prepared to meet strong opposition, are there any questions?"

One of the White Fang grunts raised their hand. Cinder nodded.

"Then we'll move out."

* * *

The sewers were bad, all reek and rats, but the catacombs were worse. Much worse. Everyone she looked, Ruby could only see bones, green water, and _really_ big rats.

 _Those things are large enough to eat the Grimm!_ Ruby's hand clenched on the handle of Crescent Rose as one of the rodents shuffled past, its tail rasping against stone and bone. Gritting her teeth, she resisted the urge to shoot it; that would only anger its numerous relatives.

One of the few (Very few) bright sides of this endeavor was that Crimson had finally stopped talking. With his cleavers in hand and eyes watchful, the assassin seemed have gone full professional, his short rest apparently doing wonders for him.

 _Gotta enjoy the small favors, I guess._ Ruby glanced around at the hit team, a heavily armed mix of terrorists and criminals all moving through the murky darkness in tense silence. Even Cinder's presence wasn't all raging inferno, but a smoldering spark, waiting to be unleashed.

As the group went deeper into the bones and shadows of the catacombs, the air grew more stale and thick, cloying itself in Ruby's lungs. Briefly, she wondered if the ancient air would kill them before whatever 'strong opposition' had the chance.

Then with the screech of claws and the rumble of snarls, the monsters came out of the dead darkness and Ruby had better things to do than ponder idle thoughts.

They used to be Grimm, Ruby noticed as she fired at the swarm, her rounds joining those of the White Fang and every other gunslinger in the tunnel. They used to be Beowolves but were now creatures of abomination.

Gnarled and mangled, their lupine face masks were broken and _pulsated_ with what looked like glowing fungi, casting toxic green light on deformed faces. Similarly colored crystals erupted out of their forearms, like infernal Dust, they twisted the limbs into clubs of razor-sharp shards. Other spikes of crystals _pierced_ through the midnight flesh all over their bodies like horrific pustules.

Everyone still alive shot as many as possible. Crimson's cleavers splitting down the middle to form small canons that released a thundering barrage of Fire Dust at the swarm as Neo and Skyler turned to blurs of color and blades. Ruby was too preoccupied with blowing off demon limbs to check on anyone else.

But there so many. Too many. The black tide moved in and they did not stop. The White Fang was overtaken, disappearing from view. Ruby lost sight of Skyler and Crimson amidst the snarling sea, she saw Mercury and Emerald get swept away in a wave of claws and teeth. Drowning in Grimm stench, Ruby found herself staring into Neo's _terrified_ face…

…just as one of the monsters snatched her away into the shifting darkness. Ruby felt terror seal her throat shut. _They killed her, they killed Neo…_

 _They killed Neo._

 _They. Killed. Neo._

And as Cinder's flames still flared bright and burning, the young killer felt something powerful and _angry_ shift inside her and her eyes bloom in searing heat as the world turned to brilliant silver. The last thing Ruby heard before she fell out of the waking world was the sound of a woman's agonizing screams.

* * *

Everything hurt and tasted like ash.

Peeling open eyelids that like they were crusted with stone, Ruby pressed a hand to her throbbing forehead, the pain making it hard even to _think_ properly. But two things remained clear and stark, Neo was gone and Cinder Fall was glaring down at her, the woman's once fair skin now blackened and burnt.

Ruby could not care less.

Pushing herself off the ground, head still spinning, Ruby stumbled forward across the ash-packed floor, ignoring Crescent Rose discarded on the ground. The skulls of the catacomb grinned down at her from the wall as she searched desperately for any sign of Neo, _any_ splash of color that might tell her that she was still _alive_.

"You're not going to find her." Cinder's pained voice issued from behind. "The Lusus Naturae took Neo and everyone else. Thanks to your little _episode_ , you managed to wipe out the ones charged with snatching _us_."

Only two words of Cinder's stood out to Ruby, ' _The Lusus Naturae'_. The things that attacked them, the twisted Grimm, Cinder knew what they were. She _knew_ what they were and that the monsters were down here and still sent them into this hell, she sent _Neo_ down into this hell.

With a cry of rage, Ruby whirled around and tackled Cinder to the ground, their impact sending clouds of black ash into the air. Stunned by the unexpected attack and with her aura doing all it can to heal her scorched skin, Cinder was thoroughly unprepared for Ruby straddling her chest and raining blow after blow down upon her face, a snarl of fury twisting the young girl's face.

However, she was not shocked for long and in a deft movement of limbs, Ruby found herself being hurled into a bone-adorn wall, her impact causing a spider's web of cracks to mark where she landed. The dazed girl felt a hand grip her throat and slam her against the wall once again. Cinder spoke, her voice trembling with rage.

"Do that again and I'll rip you from your stomach to your throat and burn whatever falls out!" The grip around Ruby's windpipe tightened. "Now, stop acting like one those White Fang thugs and listen to me, I did not say your precious girlfriend was dead, I said she was _taken_. Those creatures were not sent here to kill us; they were merely here to take us to Merlot. Trust me, if that madman wanted us dead, he would have sent something much larger."

Ruby stop struggling against Cinder's strength and locked eyes with her, confiding to her that if what she said turned out to be and wrong and Neo was just _taken_ , then Ruby would do everything in her ability to tear Cinder limb from limb.

The woman just scoffed and let go of Ruby. "If you are done, there is a chance everyone is still alive. Given that our assignment is still not done, there are more than enough reasons to go and rescue them."

As the pair followed the gorges and scuffs in the stone floor that marked the path of the Lusus Naturae, the anger, hate, and pain that had clouded Ruby's mind started to fade away, replaced by a burning curiosity. Whatever that light was, she had caused it and it wiped out the mutated Grimm and, unless she had burned herself, it had wounded Cinder. Could the light hurt humans too? Faunus? Actually, scratch that question, here's a better one.

How could Ruby emit a blinding light that could obliterate the darkest monsters known to the world?

 _What demented fairy tale have I stumbled into?_

* * *

Deep below the surface, in a place infested with madness, Neo woke up to the squelches of splitting flesh and the sounds of her own screams.

* * *

 **Well, that was fun. See you all in the next chapter!**

 **Next Update (Yes, I'm still doing this, shut up.): 4/1/2019**


	13. The Grabbing Shadows

**Don't ask why this is late, it's not important. Just enjoy the chapter and yell at me if I'm ever late ever again. Thanks.**

* * *

Never in her darkest nightmares would Ruby have thought she would have Neo taken away from her by mutated Grimm and be replaced with Cinder 'Melt Your Face Off While I'm Laughing' Fall.

That sort of thing just never crossed her mind.

But in the semi-darkness of Vale's catacombs, Ruby found herself in that exact situation. Trying to find Neo who, along with the rest of their hit team, had been taken by the Lusus Naturae, a swarm of freakish monsters created by some mole-like mad scientist. If that wasn't bad enough, the only ally Ruby could claim was, indeed, Cinder Fall (Ruby decided to drop the lengthy middle-name.).

Giving the close proximity to monsters (And their undisguised loathing of each other), the silence was a gaping void between the two. A void no one wanted to fill.

 _After we get Neo and get out of here, I'm talking Roman and we're seeing if sucking up to Cinder is worth it._ Ruby's fingers tightened around Crescent Rose. _If not, this will be my favorite hit of all time._

"If you are thinking of murdering me, I would strongly advise against it." Cinder spared Ruby a sideways glance. "I would _hate_ to have to get rid of you when you are just becoming of some use to me."

 _This_. _This_ was the kind of thing that Ruby was talking about. No threat of being burned alive was worth _this_. The arrogance, the constant coercion, the risking of Neo's _life_! All of it was wearing away at Ruby's self-control. Breathing in the subterranean air, Ruby was one more insult away from adding Cinder's corpse to the catacombs.

Fortunately for Cinder (and perhaps unfortunately for Ruby), not another word was spoken as they followed the trail of claw marks and shards of toxic crystals. Searching for any sign of the ones taken by Merlot's creations. For Cinder, it was merely to retrieve valuable assets, but for Ruby…

For Ruby, it was finding Neo, finding the person responsible for taking her away and splattering them all over the wall. Preferably in that order.

* * *

Neo bite back a whimper as a finger clad in latex pushed itself into one of the gashes that craved up her side, she had long ago lost the breath to scream. A light chuckle from above her did nothing to calm the tidal wave of terror and pain that felt like it was rupturing her veins.

"This will stop as soon as you start talking. I'll even make it easy for you, how about you tell me about the organization you belong too, hm? Your eccentric friend is next on the table if you do not and my gentlemanly manner does not extend to anarchic street trash."

The owner of the voice sounded like they were discussing lunch, as if their hands were not covered in Neo's blood, as if their finger was not digging into her exposed muscle. Through eyes half-blinded by pain, Neo glared up at the man who smiled serenely back down at her.

"Now, my dear, don't be like that. I just want to know about your organization. Are you fighting in the shadows with the rest of us or are you just the misinformed hired help?"

Her mind clouded by fury and pain, Neo could not help but let her confusion show. Something that made the man chuckle once again.

"The latter, I see." Leaning closer, the too-bright lights caused the man's beard to cast shadows upon his face, all except for a glowing eye of cybernetics. His smile bright and off-kilter in his pale face. Neo could smell the madness _dripping_ of the old man.

"I wonder," He tilted his head, the scalpel in his hand glittering wickedly. "What _did_ they tell you?"

Neo could only gape in bewilderment and he threw back his head and laughed.

"Well, that won't do at all!" He waved the scalpel through the air like a painter's brush. "Allow me to catch you up on the real world, I'm not sure on all the details myself, but I _do_ know that this story begins with the most _beautiful_ Grimm to ever exist and the silly notions of her own destiny." He leaned closer, till his eyes were mere hairbreadths above Neo's own, his breath hot and sickly on her face.

"My name is Amadeus Merlot and let me tell you about Salem."

* * *

 _In a Manor, in the cold reaches of Atlas…_

 _This insane! Why am I doing this? Can I do this? Crimson is just like this sometimes! Will she even pick up?_ Whitley Schnee, frenzied almost to the point of panic, thought about that question before shaking his head. His pacing taking him to all corners of his bedroom. _No, of course, she won't. THAT would require her to acknowledge my existence…but what else can I do?!_

Whitley knew the answer to _that_ question immediately. Nothing, he could do nothing but call his sister to see if his only friend had fallen back into any…bad habits. _Dear Gods, this is going to be horrible._

Taking a deep breath, he pressed down on the call icon and waited for the person on the other end to answer. He did not have to wait long.

"Hello, this is Weiss Sc- _Whitley_?!" Weiss Schnee's shocked face stared at her shuffling brother with eyes so wide that in any other situation it would have been comical.

"Hello, sister." Whitley averted his gaze for a moment before turning back, steeling himself for what he was about to say. "I need your help."

To say Weiss was surprised would be the understatement of the eon. Seeing that her mouth was not entirely functional at the moment, Whitley pressed on with his plea.

"I am calling about a Beacon student named Crimson Shard," He paused for a moment before continuing. "You see, sister, he's my friend and I think he is in trouble."

The two siblings stared at each other, one with eyes wide with shock while the other dared to show a faint light of hope. Whitley hoped he was wrong about his previous thoughts, that maybe his sister would help him.

"You are friends with _Crimson Shard_?!"

"Yes, and I need to check on him." He decided to ignore the incredulous in her question for the sake of getting answers. "Do you know where he is?"

"No, but…" Weiss seemed lost for words and Whitley was beginning to grow annoyed. Was it really that much of an oddity that he had a friend? Seeing the hardness of his face, Weiss composed herself and lifted her chin.

"I am sorry, but my team and Team RSNC, your…friend's team, are not on speaking terms with each other. Nor we will ever be. Please, do _not_ ask me again." Her eyes grew to the familiar coldness that dominated the two Schnee siblings every conversation. Whitley felt the same ice fill his own eyes.

"Forgive me for thinking you might be helpful, sister. I will not _bother_ you again." He hung up before she could retort, his anxious thoughts gnawing at his mind again. Thoughts centering around his friend, he walked to the large window that overlooked the manor grounds. Gazing out over the icy landscape, Whitley tried to look past the boy staring back at him from the frost-laced windows.

 _Please be alright, Crimson. Please, please be alright._

* * *

Ruby knew they were on the right track when the catacombs lead to a metal door illumined by bright rivers of light running through the surface. Cinder stepped forward to examine the piece of technology.

"Interesting…" She murmured as she ran a hand across the metal, a glinting trail of faint light simmering at the contact. "Our friend seems to be either very well-funded or _very_ paranoid. This door can only be opened by those linked into is sensors, meaning we need a body or a large part of one."

Ruby nodded seriously. "Right, I see." Then she leveled Crescent at the door and fired a Lighting Dust round into its middle, blowing the entire thing out of the wall and into the well-lit corridor beyond. She turned to Cinder as she walked past the now-dusty woman.

"Come on, let's go find our body. Luckily for us, I already have a few ideas on how to get one!" Ruby entered the hallway, the metal grate floor causing echoes to fly down before them. Cinder came up to walk beside her.

"I was hoping we would infiltrate the complex more discreet than _that_." Her tone was annoyed, not that Ruby cared.

"Merlot sent a horde of literal monsters after us, I _think_ he might have already known we were here." Ruby shot an accusing glare at her companion. "I wonder how he could have figured _that_ out."

Cinder rolled her eyes, her aura still healing the burns on her face. "If you are insinuating that the target learned of our plans through me, then I despair for Roman. It _must_ be hard for him to have such idiotic henchmen."

 _Don'tshootherdon'tshootherdon'tshoother!_ So focused was Ruby on keeping her bloodlust at bay, she did not notice the near-silent hiss as a portion of the wall slid away and a boiling mass of rot black and toxic green came _roaring_ out.

Well, she did not notice the wall bit, it would have been hard for her to miss the man-eating monster galloping towards her even if she _was_ distracted with trying not to kill her own companion.

"MOVE, ROSE!" Cinder's bellowing order was quickly followed by her flames that shot towards the incoming threat like hungry, orange snakes, serpents that washed over the surface of the creature without so much as singeing it.

Rolling to the side, Ruby snapped her weapon to her shoulder and got her first good look at the beast that was intent on ripping out her guts. Her first impression: it was ugly.

As in: a _thing_ dreamed up in the darkest depths of an utter madman whose depravity made the devils of the deepest Hell retch in disgust.

It probably was an Ursa Major before Merlot got his hands on it, before he turned into an _abomination_ with too many limbs and green crystals that nearly ripped it apart at the seams. Its thick tongue lolled out of its crooked mouth as it bore down upon the two nearest sources of warm meat. Bullets just bouncing off the midnight flesh of the monster.

"Dust rounds are proving only to piss this thing off!" Ruby leaped back in a whirl of rose petals as the Lusus Naturae swept a gnarled paw where her head was moments before. "Now would be a good time to cut loose with that mystic firepower you keep showing off!"

"In a narrow corridor?" Cinder shot another thin stream of fire at the mutant Grimm. "You would die along with this thing and I still happen to have use for you."

"Oh, well, _that_ warms my heart!" Ruby snarled as she fired another round, the electricity sparking off the long bullet before it buried itself into the twisted flesh of the Ursa 2.O. The monster turned its head towards her, revealing that lopsided grin full of spike-like teeth…before it _shot its tongue_ at her like a squirming serpent.

 _Oh, GROSS!_ Ruby barely had time to dodge, even with her semblance, before the organ implanted itself into the metal wall. Pulling free, the air was filled with the sounds of wet death as the Lusus Naturae's tongue whipped through the air, seeking blood. Ruby did all she could just to avoid being struck. If her frustrated snarl were anything to go by, Cinder was not faring much better.

 _Gotta kill this thing before it eats us!_ Ruby flinched as the tongue whipped so close to her face, she could feel its feverish warmth. _Oh, why is everything easier said than done?!_

Bullets were not effective against the beast, so in a whirl of motion and shifting metal, Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose, the scythe blade gleaming wickedly in the harsh light of the corridor. The tongue faltered for a split-second as the Lusus Naturae saw the weapon, but that split-second was all Ruby needed to launch herself into a vortex of flashing blades and red rose petals.

Ruby could feel the tongue being tangled with Crescent Rose and with a final _yank_ , she felt the sudden slack as she tore the slimy appendage out of the monster's mouth. Its pained squeals causing pinpricks of blood to drip out of her ears.

Coming out of her spin, Ruby briefly saw the world dance in front of her eyes before she firmly shook her head to get her bearing back. This was no time to be dizzy, there was still a monster to slay. A very angry one at that.

"Mind lending a hand?" Ruby cleaved Crescent Rose through a slashing paw, prompting a snarl of rage to rattle the beast's spiky teeth. "Or a sword? I'll take an arrow at this point."

She heard Cinder sigh and the strange, crystalized _ting_ of her obsidian weapons being formed. Barely a second had passed before the Lusus Naturae lurched to the side, slamming into the wall with Cinder's swords plunged into where the skin met green crystal. The monster opened its mouth to let out another roar of agony and Ruby acted almost on instinct as she jammed the top of Crescent Rose into its mouth and pulled the trigger, a bullet shooting straight through the soft tissue into the brain. As mindless as Grimm were, things like central nervous systems were still important.

The beast slumped to the floor and began to dissolve into rivulets of viscous liquid, both humans stepping away in disgust. Ruby spoke.

"I hope we don't have to do this too often. Finding Neo is going to be a lot harder if we have to kill mutated Grimm every time we take a step."

Cinder merely waved her swords back to whatever basis they had formed from and began walking back down the corridor; Ruby jogged a little to catch up, her eyes _much_ more watchful. In silence, the two criminals of the darkest underworld searched for both friend and revenge.

* * *

He was coming back.

After all that Skyler had done to keep him out, to keep him locked away, he was coming back.

 _No! We agreed! I was to be in control!_ His eyes were screwed shut as sweat ran down his body, soaking the filthy fabric of his ruined suit, tore to shreds by monster claws. He knew from the moment that the rage and fury flooded him in that history class, that his grip was slipping. He thought that he could keep the gate closed until he had time to regain his control, to keep in the light.

But the plan to kill Merlot went wrong and he was captured, waking up alone in a tiny cell with nothing but his mind to keep him occupied. Nothing but thoughts and _him_.

It was a horrible thing to share your body. To have a mind so conflicted that it divides to form separate people just to keep from shattering into insanity. To have a semblance that demands the body is to house them all, to manage between peace and fury, fear and hegemony. Winter white, the color of mountain snow, was the sign that rationalism still had control. Midnight black, the color of the deepest caverns, was the mark of fury. The others, Skyler did not know what their mark would be, it wasn't like he wanted _all_ of them to have a turn. But between the warring two, all _they_ had to do to see who was in control was look the mirror and gaze into the eyes reflected back at them.

White for peace, black for fury. That was the mark.

And Skyler could feel his eyes began to darken as he drifted away into the recesses of his split mind. As he felt the son of vengeance and wrath began to take hold once again.

* * *

Crimson Shard wondered who invented the lightbulb. And he was very concerned when he could not remember the answer. It seemed to him that even _he_ should probably know something as trivial as _that_.

Maybe it as the pain. This old geezer, this _Mare-lou_ , not _Mer-lot_ , was very good at what he did. He really dug in and rearranged the human anatomy in ways even Crimson was unfamiliar with. But the pain was just nerves and synapsis, it was never the _pain_ that twisted Crimson's mind. It had always been and always will be the dreaded sense of weakness that made his life an unflattering imitation of some mind-warping Hell.

So maybe it was the weakness, the throbbing remaindered that, once again, he was not strong enough. That he was not skilled enough. That he was not _good enough_. That his father was right about what he said all those years ago, that he was _nothing_. Nothing, but a freak that needed to be made normal. Maybe it was _that_ which kept him from fully being aware of what was happening, keeping his mind clouded.

Distantly, he could hear the old man's furious voice demanded answers, but Crimson couldn't be bothered by it. The pain was a faint brush on his conciseness. Really, he was only aware of the _drip-drip-drip_ of some sort of liquid hitting the floor and just how _bright_ the lights above his head were.

Just how beautifully bright they were…

* * *

Neo watched as her flesh knit itself back together. It took a while (Much too long, in her opinion.) for her aura to recharge enough to be able to heal the wounds left by Merlot's torture. What she learned from him, however, nothing could take away. Like a brand burned into skin, it was forever in her mind.

Because seriously, one does not exactly learn about evil Grimm-woman-things bent on world damnation very often. Even though Merlot's ramblings mostly centered around how _beautiful_ and _perfect_ the evil Grimm-woman-thing was, she got the gist of the entire spiel.

Salem wasn't human. Salem wanted to damn the entire world. Cinder was working with Salem. And the Torchwick Syndicate had been duped into helping them. Understandably, Neo had a problem with that.

 _How do I even tell others about this?!_ Alone in a small cell, she only had her swirling thoughts to keep her company. Ever since her capture, she had seen nothing of the hit team, nothing of her teammates, nothing of Ruby.

That alone made her simultaneously blood-boiling furious and terrified to her very core, neither emotion was directed at herself. The sight of her pale face, her brilliant silver eyes wide with fear, was the last thing Neo had seen before something crashed into the back of her skull and she woke up on Merlot's torture table. The last thing she had seen was Ruby afraid.

 _She was scared. RUBY was scared. And now she could be feeling nothing at all._ The fury grew hotter in Neo's veins, the mere thought fanning her anger into an uncontrollable blaze. Merlot and his insanity had caused that, Cinder and her plans had caused this, even _Roman_ had a hand in this. A hand in dragging them all down into the dark. A hand in _killing Ru-_

Neo's head snapped up, cracking against the wall with enough force to bring down her already depleted aura. She stared at the steel door of her cell with wide eyes as the sounds of footsteps drew nearer. The clink and rasp of shoes on concrete steady and unhesitant. Not for the first time, Neo wished she had Deadly Elegance in her hand.

The footsteps abruptly stopped as they reached her door, silence filling the void left behind. There was a quiet _clink_ of flesh on metal before a terrible _screeching_ sound rent the air as the door was _ripped_ off its hinges. The door was thrown aside with a ringing _clang_ to reveal the person behind it and Neo breathed a sigh of relief.

" _It's about time you got me out of here, Snowball."_ She stumbled to her feet, wincing slightly as the motion pulled at still-healing flesh. _"Is Ruby alright? Is Merlot dead yet? Is-Skyler?"_

Skyler entered the cell, still as silent as the catacombs above them, and adrenaline immediately began pounding back into her Neo's veins. Because whoever it was that had entered her cell, it wasn't her high-class teammate.

Whoever it was in her cell had loathful black eyes and glared at Neo as if she was some sort of slimy insect to be crushed under a boot heel. He took a step forward, hands curling into a fist, mouth twisting into a snarl. Four words dripped past from his bared teeth.

" **I am not Skyler."**

* * *

Ruby figured that her best bet for finding Neo was to follow the sounds of tearing steel. It seemed to her, that if she found the source of the noises of destruction, her team couldn't be far behind.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Rose." Cinder drawled from behind her as Ruby hurried through the halls of the complex, the last echoes of something heavy being thrown fading away. Forced to up her own pace, Cinder frowned at the back of her companion who seemed hellsbent on ignoring her.

"Did you already forget that we were ambushed? Slow down before you get us caught in another one."

Her order went unheard as Ruby continued to plunge deeper into the underground lab, twisting through the corridors until finding her away back unaided became impossible. Not that she cared, she was intent on the sole purpose of finding the one who had been snatched away from her. On finding Neo.

Turning a corner, Ruby nearly tripped over a twisted hunk of metal that she only recognized as a door after she barely avoided being brained by it.

 _That's not supposed to be on the floor._ Ruby's eyes snapped up to the gaping entryway where she assumed the door had been violently evicted from, the room behind hidden in murky gloom.

"Neo? You in there?" Ruby took a cautious step forward. "Please tell me you're in there and I'm not about to step into a horrible den of some-OOF!"

Ruby's words were cut off as a blur of black hair and tattered rags flew out of the shadows like a pouncing predator and tackled Ruby to the floor, both hitting the tiles with a loud _thud_.

With Crescent Rose pressed between her body and the body of her attacker, Ruby did the only thing she could in the situation.

She head-butted whoever was trying to kill her in the face.

The crack of bone and the spray of blood preceded a pained grunt, the hands that were trying to find purchase around her throat slackened and Ruby took the opening to knee them between the legs.

And discovered that her attacker was, in fact, male.

As he reared back in pain, Ruby jammed the barrel flush against his skin and pulled the trigger. The loud _ch-chunk_ of the rifle and the fierce _crack_ of shattering aura filled the air as he flew back into the wall, another grunt slipping past his lips.

"Where's Neo? Do you work for Merlot? Who are you? Answer each question in that order." She commanded as she leveled the weapon at her opponent's head. Vaguely, she was aware of Cinder turning the corner and demanding to know what was going on. Both Ruby and her attacker ignore her.

Breathing heavily, he raised his head to reveal _glaring_ black eyes and a snarl of rage twisting his face. Twisting _Skyler's_ face.

His hair was wild and his torso was covered with nothing but the scraps of his ensemble. Streaks of filth covered his skin. Fury and hate seemed to foul the air around him, his eyes looked to be leaking shadows.

 _Oh, my Gods, he got possessed by a demon. How connected IS this Merlot guy?!_

That thought proved to be her undoing as Skyler-or whatever was using his body like a puppet-lashed out with both his legs and caught Ruby in the center of her chest, her own aura flaring as she slammed into the opposing wall, Crescent Rose flying from her hands.

It was at this time that Cinder decided to step in, her blades flashing as they swung for his neck. In her semi-dazed state, Ruby expected there to be a spray of blood and the wet thud of a headless body falling to the ground.

What she did not expect, was Skyler to dodge out of the way like a ragged streak of lightning and punch Cinder in the face. It was not a hard punch, and without aura to fuel his strength, she probably did not even feel it.

Really, it was the sheer _shock_ of having her attack dodged and then face punched that did the most damage to her pride. A blow she soon wanted to avenge.

Showing her teeth in a snarl, Cinder lunged towards Skyler in a whirl of fire and steel. He tried to dodge her strikes, but she was nothing but a blur and the thief soon found himself flat on his back with a bruise discoloring his forehead and a sword tickling his throat.

"Rose." Cinder dug the point of her blade into Skyler's flesh. "Any last words that you would care to bestow on your late teammate?"

"No, but there are words I would care to bestow on _you_ ," Ruby grumbled as she pushed herself off the floor and came to stand beside the taller woman, laying a hand on her outstretched arm. "Don't kill him, he's obviously under _some sort_ of influence."

"He _hit_ me," Cinder growled. "I don't _care_."

" _Oh, Gods. Stop fighting, you're hurting my head!"_

The sudden voice caused the two (Skyler wasn't so much as twitching with the sword threatening his throat.) to look over to the gaping maw of the cell to see a grimy Neo glaring at them both with her hands clasped around her head, her hair matted with blood.

" _Neo!"_ Ruby shot forward, pushing past Cinder and Skyler, and leaped at the shorter girl. Wrapping her arms around her, she crushed Neo to her chest. "Are you alright? You _are_ alright, right? Please tell me you are alright!"

" _Rubies, please-ow-I'm fine, you're just squeezing me and-ugh-holding me a little too tight."_ Despite her words, Neo buried her face into Ruby's shoulders, her own arms wrapping around the small hitman. _"But just a little."_

But then Ruby let go of her entirely and studied the side of her head. There was a shallow gash gorged into her flesh and, like head injuries are prone to do, it was bleeding freely, discoloring her colorful hair to a rusty brown.

"I take it Skyler did this to you?" Despite the control tone when she said these words, Ruby wanted to do nothing more but let Cinder take her revenge on their collective attacker. Neo, however, shook her head.

" _Skyler didn't do this, his good ol' buddy Kallik was the one who tried to smash my head in. I think Snowball was somewhere inside, screaming at said buddy to stop before I did something to defend myself, like castration."_

"Uh…what?" She tilted his head to the side. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Kallik just Skyler's birth name?"

" _No, that was a lie. Kallik is a personality that hates all living things and wants to bring about their untimely demise."_ Neo shrugged. _"Apparently, that lying bas-I mean, our DEAR teammate Skyler has a Switching Semblance that he forgot to mention."_

Ruby blinked. "As in those things that are practically married to the line between semblances and mental illnesses?"

" _Yeah, those ones."_

The two girls turned to look at the person held hostage by Cinder, his black eyes still glaring balefully at all three of them. The black sword was still jammed under his chin, so Ruby was not _too_ worried as she knelt down beside him and furrowed her brow.

"So, you're Kallik. Weird, I thought you would have been nicer and _way_ more into suits." She leaned back as he growled. "Also less snarly."

"My Gods, we are not here to make small talk!" Cinder snapped, jostling her sword so that it nicked the skin of Kallik's neck. "We have more important things to tend to then the rogue by-product of a freakish semblance!"

" **If you are going to kill me, then kill me. Stop** _ **talking**_ **about it!"**

The voice, as low as sinking stones, caused even Cinder to stop speaking and looked down at her captive in a tiny amount of surprise. Kallik just rolled his eyes at the sight.

" **Ooh, yes, I speak. Now, are you going to kill me,** _ **gawk**_ **at me, or just continue to talk about me like I am not even here?"**

"Careful what you say," Cinder growled, her grip tightening. "Despite your words, I doubt you are that carefree about dying."

" **Death is nothing, but-"**

"I'VE BEEN SUFFERING IN A CELL FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG AND YOU ARE STANDING HERE TALKING TO TORCHWICK'S LACKEYS?!"

"Don't talk to her like that! I'm Cinder knew exactly what she was doing!"

The group four of turned (Ruby was beginning to realize just how often that this happened.) to see a wild-looking Mercury Black standing next to an irate Emerald Sustrai. Cinder's face relaxed a faction, though her sword still remained firmly jammed above Kallik's Adam Apple. Taking her eyes off her captive, she spoke to her subordinates.

"How did you escape?"

It was Emerald who answered as Mercury was still too busy seething. Stepping forward, she looked almost apologetically up at her boss.

"When Mercury realized that his cell wasn't be guarded, he kicked the door down. Apparently, no one realized that-" Emerald eyes briefly shifted to Ruby and Cinder offered the tiniest shake of her head, which was missed by no one. Emerald continued. "That thing about him. He got out and then he found me."

" _Heard_ you, more like it," Mercury muttered, earning himself a slap from Emerald. "Ow. But yeah, I heard Emerald here yelling for help-ow, stop-also, the White Fang grunts we got are dead, I think they were served up for dinner to whatever the Hells attacked us in the catacombs."

Ruby frowned at that, joining the conversation. "What makes you say that? I haven't seen Crimson since we got here, but I doubt he was eaten."

"Yeah, but you didn't find a room full of bloody Faunus parts." Mercury jerked a thumb at himself. "I did."

"So, we are without reinforcements." Cinder mused, more to herself than anyone else. "I assume as much, but it still changes things; we need a new plan."

"If Crimson is still alive, we should probably try and find him first," Ruby looked over to Cinder. "He'll be handy in a fight."

The older woman nodded and looked back down at the person at the point of her sword, thoughtful. Leaning down slightly, she met the black-eyed gaze.

"You are inhibiting a thief in my employ, his mind may be gone, but his body is still here and I need it for this assignment. So, you have two choices, bring Skyler Snow back or help me as Kallik." Golden eyes narrowed until they were like lanterns burning through fog. "Make your choice."

For a brief moment, he actually looked confused, then his bewilderment morphed into an almost exasperated look and Ruby swore she saw him mouthing. _"Again, Snow?"_

"Well?" Cinder snapped, flicking her blade to leave a shallow cut. She either missed Kallik's expressions or saw them and didn't care. The berserker in the body of the thief looked up at her, his face schooled back into disdain and anger.

" **Fine, I'll help you, but know that it is for the sole reason of my work is still unfinished, do not mistake this for loyalty to** _ **you**_ **."** He sneered the last word, causing Cinder to roll her eyes.

"Oh, stay quiet and control your emotions, this is no place for wild animals." She turned her back on the seething Kallik and leveled her gaze at the rest of the group, her face as hard as stone.

"You all know what we face, I expect the next battle to go in our favor. Now," She spun her swords once in her hands. "Let's go find a madman."

And they plunged into the shadows of the halls once again.

* * *

 **Again, sorry. What happened to make me late should not happen again, but you have my permission to vent your rage at me if I** _ **am**_ **late again. Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this story and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **Update: 5/18/2019**


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